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IW: Leopard is a Better Linux Than Linux

by , 1:15 PM EST, November 12th, 2007

Apple's Mac OS X has an open source core, Darwin, consisting of Mach 3 and FreeBSD 5. As a result, the open source projects in Darwin and Apple's backing gives Linux a real run for its money, according to Information Week on Sunday.

Alexander Wolfe has discovered that there is an enormous number of open source projects embedded in Mac OS X 10.5. The list is on the Darwin Website.

As a result of these projects, an engineer or researcher has a wealth of possibilities for code development and tools that just don't exist on the Windows side. Developers and researchers who want to take advantage of these open source projects will find guidance at the Apple Developer Connection site.

This open source foundation provides, "evidence that Apple has obviously figured out how to successfully build on the work of others, how to market that stuff, how to avoid internecine warfare and fanboy pointlessness. It also has demonstrated how to build a business where you can make real money," Mr. Wolfe wrote.

As a result, the author believes that Apple's Mac OS X is a more successful UNIX OS than Linux ever will be.

TMO notes that the above list of open source projects in Mac OS X is not well known, even amongst those well versed in Mac OS X.

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
Close Name:Tiger Posts: 1016 Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Subject: the other advantage..

MacOSX has over LInux is the sheer number of available, commercially marketable applications that people actually use. Not a value judgement here, just a quantifiable number. How many designers know of a creative suite of apps for Linux that a prepress house can actually work your jobs from? Video editing? It comes down to sheer numbers. And that said, the Linux and MacOS worlds should combine forces to crush everybody.

Close Name:Guest
Subject:

"...gives Linux a real runs for its money..."

That's terrible that Apple would give Linux diarrhea. Have some class!

Close Name:Guest
Subject: Linux needs to unify

I loved Linux until I got my first Mac about 3 years ago.
The one thing that got to me was the different versions, and that each time I upgraded something else would break, sometimes it was audio, sometime it was wireless and a lot of times it was 3D graphics,

There been a lot of advancements recently, but Linux is still not there, the unwashed masses can not yet use it and can not get support. To be a great desktop OS it has to be easy to use and upgrade and things can not break. Support needs to provide answers that are not technobabble.

Love my Mac, sticking with it.

Close Name:daemon Posts: 343 Joined: 17 May 2007
Subject:

Who comes up with these bad headlines John?

Close Name:Intruder -   TMO Mac Specialist Posts: 3149 Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Subject:

Quote
daemon wrote:
Who comes up with these bad headlines John?


The headline came directly from the referenced article.

If you don't like it, complain to IW.

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