Re: A whole new meaning to putting tasks in the background...
- From: Steve Baker <ice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: technocracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2000 16:51:22 -0500
"M.K. Chatterji" <chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
> It's pretty cool. I got my Mac OS X beta today too. A 5-year old
> could have installed it! I have the server version as well (Mac OS X
> Server), but this client version is truly meant to be BSD-Unix for
> mere mortals.
You seem to imply that this can't be done for Linux. However if you had
bothered to look at a Linux desktop in the last 6 months, you would see that
significant improvement has been made in this area.
> Unix "engineers" will hate it I suspect, particularly
> Linux people I predict, because while it brings the power of *nix to
> people who don't know or don't have to know anything about computer
> science, well, it's not a shell-enabled (as such) Unix server.
What I hate is having stones thrown at my profession and favorite OS. You
also seem to have forgotten that OS X is basically a library running on top
of a real OS, that being BSD, which is much like Linux in many ways, save
for it's license. I don't hate BSD, but I don't necessarily like what Apple
is doing with it. I for one think they should do away with Mach.
If they have decided to remove the traditional apps that make Unix Unix,
then it's their loss, as those are some of the most powerful tools around.
Cron and bash together, used correctly, can almost put a sys-admin out of a
job. It's these tools, not just the rock solid kernel upon which they rest,
that makes Unix second to none in the server arena. Without those tools, you
don't have the power of Unix.
Also about the crack about Linux people hating it. How come then is there
so much effort being put into making Linux easy to install and use. Making
it easy to install on Intel hardware is no mean feat either, but apparently
it's getting to the point even clueless journalists are starting to be
impressed with how easy it is, and that in my mind is much more impressive
than making a easy install on a machine where you control what hardware
exists on it. There are tons of Linux groups and companies busily doing the
very same things for Linux that Apple has done with OS X. Peek up from your
Mac now and then and take a look around at whats happening.
PCI busses are standard issue now on Mac's yes? I think you should be
pleased by that, because it may now be possible for OS X to let you have a
choice of hardware that people who use PC hardware have typically enjoyed.
The BSD's and Linux share many of the same drivers, so that opens up a wide
range of PC hardware you wouldn't ever be able to use under your old Mac
OS, but can now, thanks to FreeBSD/Linux. I for one welcome OS X if drivers
flow from that direction as well (particularly USB device drivers).
> Clearly it will be light years ahead of Windows NT, Me, 9x, 2000,
> etc., but it will probably be a flop in the market because few
> vendors will take the time to develop the usual Microsoft-ish and
> other desktop apps for it.
At any rate it's finally an admission from Apple that they can't make an
OS better than Linux/FreeBSD (if they ever could). Now if only MS would.
- Steve
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