Yeah, it's definitely been over a year since I checked them out. I'll have to take another look soon.
I kind of like Mac OS X (Server), the power of Unix combined with the most elegant user interface available today For example you can do shell programming, combine perl with Applescript, and the Xcode development environment is completely free. It has pretty good Java support too...
"contortionist" - thanks for a new word. Other than this, you leave me helpless. There is more than one kernel available under the GNU license, and people DO use "Linux" to differentiate from eg. "HURD "or "Mach" when talking about kernels. Maybe you have not heard of them, but there existance may prove your universe smaller than you believe. Just because most people use "Linux" make it not true. There is a large group of people working on the Linux project, and a MUCH larger group working on other free software projects - like: bash, ash, bsh csh, tcsh, ksh, rsh (maybe ... So maybe we could close our dispute with agreeing that some people use Linux differently from others. And agree on the fact that there is an initiative called GNU, supported not only by quite some amount of people, but also by the Free Software Foundation and the United Nation's UNESCO. And that any ordinary linux distribution contains both the Linux kernel plus other GNU software ... Call it GNU/Linux, and you are finally almost correct with saying that you can do shell programming under Linux. Man, be good!
NeXT was a truly innovative platform, actually favored by traders, and many specialist aplications were developed for it. Nowadays we have OpenStep and Mac OS X, which probably is the most elegant looking and designed operating system out there. It is based on the Mach microkernel, and is in some respects compliant with UNIX systems. When really wanting to use the UNIX advantages and powertools, one has to be able to use the shells efficiently. The best book I read on the subject was : "UNIX for the impatient". I actually have both the 1st edition and the second edition. One of the strongest reasons for having this book ready on your desk, is the very logical and strong reference throughout the book. The 2nd edition also includes the book electronically on a CD. Many of the UNIX strongpoints are also available under Windows using Cygwin etc., but it will never come close to the extreme reliablilty of UNIXes. I've administered many flavours including SunOS, Solaris, HP/UX, AIX, SGI Irix, Linux and others.
Hi agrau, contortionist: "An acrobat who practices contortions of the body". [Webster Dictionary] Glad to hear you learned something new. Be good, nononsense