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Benjamin Herrenschmidt On PPC/Linux, Apple and OSS
MacBoy writes "The folks over at ResExcellence have a great interview with Benjamin Herrenschmidt, kernel guru for the PPC/Linux camp. He offers up some history of Linux on Apple and PPC hardware, and some discussion on Apple's current and past contributions to the open-source and Linux communities. He makes some interesting comparisons of Linux on PPC vs. Intel hardware, such as the ease of getting important patches into the kernel on PPC compared to Intel. It's an interesting read, especially if you are amoung the many who covet the new Dual-CPU GHz G4 Macs and want to know a little more about the PPC/Linux community."
Linux really sucks. I mean it really, really, sucks bad. It is so bad. I feel sorry for people who use it. Are they too stupid to realize they are using an inferior OS? Or are they just so closed minded they intentionally interefere with the Darwinian evolution of operating systems?? Strange. I dont understand it.
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I want to state for the record that I firmly believe linux really sucks bad, and is the worst OS ever.
How about speed? Linux uses a monolithic kernel while OS X uses a microkernel, and we all know monolithic kernels are MUCH faster than microkernels. Even old outdated Linux kernels outperform brand new builds of OS X as a webserver and at other important tasks which is what OS X is really geared at doing. OS X can however be modified by optimizing device drivers but do you really want to spend all that time? Linux is fast right out of the box. I don't have to mention the GUI do I. Apple's is terribly slow and most of it is in fact useless.
How about system requirements. Linux needs very little to run while OS X needs 128 MB RAM min. Linux can run on old macs while OS X cannot (without being hacked).
How about price. Linux is free while OS X is not. OS X costs $129.00 at the Apple store.
How about for the advanced user. OS X hides many admin tools deep in the GUI while Linux does not. OS X is built for newbies while Linux is built partly for both advanced and newbies.
Apple should have built OS X off of Linux if they were smart. It is better in many ways than Darwin/Mach.
--Metrollica
If you bought a mac for performance reasons then you probably need to keep taking your lithium. BTW I love the "for certain operations" bit.
I have trouble with passwords among other things.
While having sexual relations with a 12 year old preteen girl, I somehow managed to get my cock stuck in her very small, tight little cunt.
She says it hurts very badly but I don't care. Her father loosened her up a bit when he rapes her. What I really want to do is just fuck her senseless and then ditch her in the east river.
I cannot remove my manrod because I have not ejaculated yet and am still rock hard. At least I can thank myself for choosing a girl with a hairless pussy, because if it wasn't, our pubes would be intertwined and inseparable.
My 9 inch cock doesn't stick all the way in her so maybe the best thing to do is get her to masturbate me with her cute soft little hands so I will loose my stiffy.
I have learned my lesson. Next time I am going with a 13 year old!
My main point is about keyboards, but first just a quick note on mice. Mice
Admittedly, one button mice are not much of a problem on desktop machines. You can (for some small extra expense) buy a 3-button USB mouse. Apple's refusal to package a 3-button mouse only raises the effective price of their desktop machines.
However, on a laptop, a one-button mouse is a hardship. Carrying an extra mouse with you is a real pain. In general, carrying anything extra with a laptop is unacceptable. (You can redefine a couple of keyboard keys to be mouse keys, but then you lose those keyboard keys.) Keyboards
My main point is about keyboards. Apple designes horrible keyboards. ADB keyboards (which are still used on all of Apple's laptops) are unusable to unix users. Even more so than with a mouse, carrying an extra USB keyboard along with your laptop just to make the laptop usable is absolutely unacceptable . Proper Keyboard Design
- When a key is pressed, the keyboard sends a keyPress event.
- When a key is released, the keyboard sends a keyRelease event.
- Each key is assigned a different keycode.
Nothing more, nothing less. ADB Keyboard Mis-design- When the key to the left of the 'A' (CapsLock) is pressed, the ADB keyboard sends both a keyPress event and a keyRelease event.
- When the CapsLock key is then released, the ADB keyboard sends NO events.
- When the CapsLock key is next pressed, the ADB keyboard sends NO events.
- When the CapsLock key is then released, the ADB keyboard sends both a keyPress event and a keyRelease event.
This is WRONG ! Apple's ADB keyboards are broken by design. Unix Users Cannot Use Apple's ADB KeyboardsWhat this means is that unix users who need the key to the left of the 'A' to be a Ctrl key cannot use Apple ADB keyboards. You can easily reprogram the CapsLock key to be a Ctrl key and get rid of the badness of the CapsLock key, but you can't get the required goodness of the Ctrl key to the left of the 'A'. Early Apple USB Keyboards Can't Tell Right from Left.
Apple USB keyboards do not have the CapsLock<->Ctrl problem, but some have another minor problem.
Early Apple USB keyboards (without the number pad) did not distinguish between the left and right sides of the keyboard; the Shift key on the right side of the keyboard reported LeftShift events just like the Shift key on the left side of the keyboard. In other words, the duplicated keys (like Shift, CapsLock, Ctrl, and Command) on the right side of the keyboard had the same keycodes as the keys on the left side of the keyboard. Apple Loses Sales to Unix Users
All Apple laptops have the horrible broken-by-design ADB keyboards which are unusable to unix users. I want to buy an Apple laptop, but I cannot and will not until Apple builds input devices usable by unix users.
Apple Input Devices are Unacceptable to Unix Users
Apple makes horrible input devices:
My main point is about keyboards, but first just a quick note on mice.
Mice
Admittedly, one button mice are not much of a problem on desktop machines. You can (for some small extra expense) buy a 3-button USB mouse. Apple's refusal to package a 3-button mouse only raises the effective price of their desktop machines.
However, on a laptop, a one-button mouse is a hardship. Carrying an extra mouse with you is a real pain. In general, carrying anything extra with a laptop is unacceptable. (You can redefine a couple of keyboard keys to be mouse keys, but then you lose those keyboard keys.)
Keyboards
My main point is about keyboards. Apple designes horrible keyboards. ADB keyboards (which are still used on all of Apple's laptops) are unusable to unix users. Even more so than with a mouse, carrying an extra USB keyboard along with your laptop just to make the laptop usable is absolutely unacceptable .
Proper Keyboard Design
- When a key is pressed, the keyboard sends a keyPress event.
- When a key is released, the keyboard sends a keyRelease event.
- Each key is assigned a different keycode.
Nothing more, nothing less.ADB Keyboard Mis-design
- When the key to the left of the 'A' (CapsLock) is pressed, the ADB keyboard sends both a keyPress event and a keyRelease event.
- When the CapsLock key is then released, the ADB keyboard sends NO events.
- When the CapsLock key is next pressed, the ADB keyboard sends NO events.
- When the CapsLock key is then released, the ADB keyboard sends both a keyPress event and a keyRelease event.
This is WRONG ! Apple's ADB keyboards are broken by design.Unix Users Cannot Use Apple's ADB Keyboards
What this means is that unix users who need the key to the left of the 'A' to be a Ctrl key cannot use Apple ADB keyboards. You can easily reprogram the CapsLock key to be a Ctrl key and get rid of the badness of the CapsLock key, but you can't get the required goodness of the Ctrl key to the left of the 'A'.
Early Apple USB Keyboards Can't Tell Right from Left.
Apple USB keyboards do not have the CapsLock<->Ctrl problem, but some have another minor problem.
Early Apple USB keyboards (without the number pad) did not distinguish between the left and right sides of the keyboard; the Shift key on the right side of the keyboard reported LeftShift events just like the Shift key on the left side of the keyboard. In other words, the duplicated keys (like Shift, CapsLock, Ctrl, and Command) on the right side of the keyboard had the same keycodes as the keys on the left side of the keyboard.
Apple Loses Sales to Unix Users
All Apple laptops have the horrible broken-by-design ADB keyboards which are unusable to unix users. I want to buy an Apple laptop, but I cannot and will not until Apple builds input devices usable by unix users.