MacOS X is definitely not comparable with let's say Irix, or HP/UX. It's not a piece of patchwork "art" like most other Unices. In fact, it's quite consistent within itself.
Application development is more or less simple (have you ever written a Motif application?). Low level programming is not as tricky as on other OSes, since the interfaces to the kernel are pretty well designed.
The GUI technology is powerful and fast when compared to X11 and even to Windows. Graphical applications integrate with each other as well as they do on Windows. And yes, at Apple they do seem to consult designers when making GUIs.
In other words, there is some thought behind MacOS X, as opposed to the organic growth that's behind other Unices. Technically it's no more than another GUI on top of Unix, but it feels like a GUI-only OS which happens to come with a terminal application that no ordinary user will ever have to use or even know of. Sorry guys, but that's what most users want.
So, to answer the question. Is Linux going to have an easy win over MacOS X? While I'd really like to see that happen it's certainly not going to be right now.
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What's more, to succesfully fight an organization like Scientology, you need to be organized.
MacOS X is definitely not comparable with let's say Irix, or HP/UX. It's not a piece of patchwork "art" like most other Unices. In fact, it's quite consistent within itself.
:)
Application development is more or less simple (have you ever written a Motif application?). Low level programming is not as tricky as on other OSes, since the interfaces to the kernel are pretty well designed.
The GUI technology is powerful and fast when compared to X11 and even to Windows. Graphical applications integrate with each other as well as they do on Windows. And yes, at Apple they do seem to consult designers when making GUIs.
In other words, there is some thought behind MacOS X, as opposed to the organic growth that's behind other Unices. Technically it's no more than another GUI on top of Unix, but it feels like a GUI-only OS which happens to come with a terminal application that no ordinary user will ever have to use or even know of. Sorry guys, but that's what most users want.
So, to answer the question. Is Linux going to have an easy win over MacOS X? While I'd really like to see that happen it's certainly not going to be right now.
Best wishes
Madeleine Freudenberg