Windows XP on Mac,Its official now.

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by forrest, Apr 5, 2006.

  1. Baron

    Baron ET Founder

    Actually, OSX is based on BSD Unix, not linux. In my opinion, OSX is a better desktop environment than Linux in just about every aspect. Of course, a lot of that has to do with the fact that OSX doesn't have to be compatible with tons of different hardware environments like linux and windows do, so the potential for unforeseen bugs is greatly diminished.
     
    #61     Apr 17, 2006
  2. As I am not a Mac user, I kind of recalled that it was based on what I mistakenly called Linux.
    Thank you for correcting.
     
    #62     Apr 17, 2006
  3. Chagi

    Chagi

    The architecture underlying MacOS may be based on *nix, but I don't agree that MacOS is directly comparable to *nix. In my opinion MacOS is all about the interface and the usability, and is certainly a better choice than Windows for many purposes.
     
    #63     Apr 17, 2006
  4. Baron

    Baron ET Founder

    There a video online that'll crack you up if you're into the windows vs. OSX battle. Basically, some guy took the audio portion of a presentation from MSFT on all the new features of the upcoming Vista operating system, and combined it with video of those same features being done in OSX to show that OSX has had all of Vista's "upcoming new features" for years :D

    Check it out
     
    #64     Apr 17, 2006
  5. nitro

    nitro

    It is as comparable to *nix as any linux is. After installing Fink, I can't tell it much from a Debian linux install that I use to run my corporate network. I don't even run the Aqua GUI on my mini, but instead xterm (ssh then xterm to be 100% accurate) to the mini running X11 (which I had to install, but it was as easy as clicking a mouse,) since the mini is going to colocation facility where it will run my trading system(s) and data acquisition.

    In addition, as my first introduction to the *nix clones was FreeBSD, I am even more intimately aware of the mac use and location of system files. But even if you don't know FBSD, it would take someone even with a minimal amount of linux experience about a couple of days to get comfortable with the names and locations of the system files.

    nitro
     
    #65     Apr 17, 2006
  6. Chagi

    Chagi

    I think my point is that we are approaching this from different angles. You arguing that the foundation of MacOS is very similar to that of *nix (and can be used directly as such), whereas I am arguing that the differentiating factor with MacOS is the interface and overall user experience.

    I've used Linux and OpenBSD a very limited amount in the past, and I have to say that I don't have much need or inclination to directly use the "guts" of an operating system; I'm generally speaking just concerned with the day to day operations of using a computer. Things may have come a long way since I last played around with Linux, but back then installing and running a GUI on Linux wasn't exactly an intuitive, simple process.
     
    #66     Apr 17, 2006
  7. Chagi

    Chagi

    That's a cute video, thanks for posting it.
     
    #67     Apr 17, 2006
  8. Baron

    Baron ET Founder

    Now you're ready for Part 2 :D
     
    #68     Apr 17, 2006
  9. I think the controlled hardware environment is a very important point as it allows quality control of the complete product. I can see why Apple may not want to make OSX available on arbitary x86 hardware and risk their brand image.

    Windows gets away with dealing with a lot of different hardware (well, some of the time anyway) because hardware vendors have to provide a fair measure of software and driver support if they want to be in the business.

    Not only do many hardware manufacturers not provide Linux drivers, but they also won't release hardware specs so that open source drivers can be written without resorting to reverse engineering. It's really quite remarkable that Linux has achieved the high degree of hardware support that is has.

    OSX may be a better desktop than KDE or Gnome, but Linux has far more free software so as always there are compromises to be made.
     
    #69     Apr 17, 2006