(my answer will be at the bottom)
Ken Elliott wrote:
> I think Apple has shown us the way. I know a lot of unix guys switching to
> Macs. I'm hoping it will have a positive influence on Linux developers. In
> other words, forget about Microsoft, chase Apple. If Linux evolved into a
> Mac-like OS that ran in Intel, that might attract Mac software developers.
> That would be rather interesting.
[and later]
> Linux won't beat MS by following them in their game. It has succeeded by
> trying to become Unix, at a low price. And that has clearly worked. Linux
> outsells all the Unix's combined. Linux is rapidly becoming the "common"
> Unix we all wished for. But all Unix-like OS's are pretty much beyond the
> average guy's ability/interest. But Apple has shown us they could move
> their user base to a version of BSD. If you think about how hard BSD is to
> setup and consider the IT knowledge of most Mac users - that freaking
> amazing...
>
> So, if Linux evolves to be more Mac-like (easy to install/use) and Mac
> Developers find it easier to port Mac OS/X software to Linux instead of
> Windows, I believe you'll begin to erode Window's market share.
>
> I'm still stuck on Window, since I have to have DreamWeaver, Flash,
> Fireworks, InDesign, PhotoShop, Illustrator, AutoCAD and SolidWorks. All
> but two of those are on OS/X. So I _could_ buy a Mac and have almost
> everything except AutoCAD and SolidWorks. But if Linux could attract those
> Mac developer to port, I could stay with my less expensive PC hardware, I'd
> be set.
>
1. Everything I hear about OS X is glowing, and it's really a rather smooth-looking OS. I am somewhat impressed with it, and moving to a Unix back end to the OS can hardly be anything but an improvement over MacOS pre-X (which was a snarled mess). In my own (extremely limited) experience with OS X, however, it seems to run quite slowly. On a Powerbook laptop of fairly recent vintage, everything ran much slower than I've experienced on a Win2k desktop running a 350MHz Celeron. That, my friends, is less than encouraging.
2. I agree with what you say about what Linux needs to do to steal market from Windows. In essence, it needs to do what Windows can't, or won't, do. It cannot just play catch-up with Windows forever. It doesn't seem to be, and that's a good sign -- Linux is filling needs that Windows doesn't dare approach because it would leave many of Microsoft's current customers out in the cold, and might lead to mass defections. Microsoft is trapped in the position of continuing to support all the same old stuff for legacy reasons and simply painting everything else as irrelevant, hoping against hope that their customer base will buy it. Longhorn is supposed to solve the problem by redesigning the Windows system from the ground up without abandoning legacy functionality, but only time will tell whether they've a chance in hell of meeting those goals. As for the Mac example, however, I'm not sure it's all that you say. How often does anyone install MacOS X? I'm sure most of those
nontechnical Mac users never installed an OS in their lives, and just buy a new Mac with an OS already installed. After all, since it only runs on proprietary hardware and the hardware always comes with an OS on it, there isn't much call for installing MacOS on anything. The rare individual that changes which version of MacOS is on a given machine is hardly the nontechnical user to whom you refer, so there isn't really a base of knowledge from which to draw any conclusions about the ease of installation for the average nontechnical end-user. The fact that it is absurdly easy to use after installation (at least according to accounts I've heard) for any average end-user is a great recommendation, however. There's no denying that.
3. I feel your pain. I can't abandon Windows, either, and for similar reasons. At least I have my pick of Windows versions.
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