[NCLUG] OS X isn't Unix

[Terry M. Gray]

Paul,

>On Mon, 16 Sep 2002, Terry M. Gray wrote:
>
>>  For a laugh? Sounds like you're pretty serious there, Paul.
>
>I never take myself too seriously. You shouldn't either.

Good advice.

>
>>  BTW, all of the "missing pieces" are easily installed (especially for
>>  anyone who can handle a linux-distro). Being a UNIX person and a Mac
>>  person, I'm not so sure that the average Mac user needs or wants the
>>  stuff (even root access)--so why not leave it out and let the UNIX person
>>  install it with the little bit of extra work that it takes.
>
>I respond to this general rebuttle in my 4th paragraph of this mail:
>http://lists.svlug.org/archives/svlug/2002-September/041784.html
>
>>  Linux would have gotten our business had OS X not come along, but the
>>  combination of the Mac desktop (and commonly used software availability)
>>  and Unix is compelling to us.
>
>Right... you wanted a desktop OS that has a Unix-base, not a Unix-focused
>operating system that has a desktop environment. There's a subtle, but
>important difference.

I'm not going to quibble over the difference between Unix-based, 
Unix-focused, etc. I will concede that I want to run Office (well, 
sort of), Endnote, Chem3D, ChemDraw, FileMaker, Photoshop, 
Dreamweaver, iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, etc. plus all the old Mac OS 9 
stuff and even Windows with Virtual PC on my "unix-box". If that 
makes me a "desktop OS" user, then so be it.

However, with OS X (and the required tweaks that most Unix folks can 
handle) I get a fully capable Unix that runs my quantum mechanics 
software, molecular modeling software, nearly the full repertoire of 
GNU software in addition. As far as I'm concerned I have a fully 
capable "Unix-focused operating system". (The other day I was trying 
to figure out how I could use one of my Mac programs to concatenate 
40 or so text files, when I suddenly remembered that I have 
cat--don't you just love it!) As I've said before--for us, it's the 
"best" of both worlds.

I do wish the developer CD would come with f77 though!

I guess we'll see how things play out. For Unix-based systems, the OS 
X installed base is huge and growing. Whether it will ever become a 
dominant force in the industry remains to be seen.

TG

>
>>  I guess it's hard to take a major defection like O'Reilly
>
>I don't think O'Reilly is really defecting... the core of his publishing
>business is Unix utilities (vi/sendmail/postfix/awd/sed/perl/php/etc.
>manuals), and since OS X runs all those and (Unix) people need books to
>figure out OS X's bastardized "Unix" and Mac people need "Unix" books, it
>can only help him.
>
>I just think his analysis of Apple's position and situation is wrong.
>
>Later,
>Paul
>   -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>   J. Paul Reed                 preed at sigkill.com || web.sigkill.com/preed
>   Wait, stop!  We can outsmart those dolphins.  Don't forget: we invented
>   computers, leg warmers, bendy straws, peel-and-eat shrimp, the glory
>   hole, *and* the pudding cup!  -- Homer Simpson, Tree House of Horror XI
>
>
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-- 
_________________
Terry M. Gray, Ph.D., Computer Support Scientist
Chemistry Department, Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado  80523
grayt at lamar.colostate.edu  http://www.chm.colostate.edu/~grayt/
phone: 970-491-7003 fax: 970-491-1801