[thelist] I'm gonna switch! I mean it this time!

[Mike Rudberg]

It is true that MacOS (pre X) may not appear to be a UNIX derivative, but it
is.  Also, true MacOS X is a (Free)BSD derivative (more so than previous
versions) and Apple may have changed their licensing; however, I have both
the FreeBSD derivative source PLUS the core.

Best,

Mike
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----- Original Message -----
From: <Arlen.P.Walker at jci.com>
To: <thelist at lists.evolt.org>
Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 4:11 PM
Subject: Re: [thelist] I'm gonna switch! I mean it this time!


> >Actually, FYI, the MacOS (any version) IS a derivative of the UNIX System
> 7.
>
> Not in any meaningful way.
>
> >The more recent MacOS X is unique because the purchaser of the OS may, in
> >fact, purchase a license to the source code (something that MS hasn't
> quite
> >gone with - even 50%).
>
> Ummm, the source code for the underpinnings of MacOSX is *free*. It's from
> the *BSD tree and it's called Darwin (and Apple has fed the changes to the
> underlayment back to the BSD community, rather than sitting on them). The
> rest of OSX does *not*, repeat *not*, emphatically *not* have a source
code
> license available, for any price.
>
> As a long time mac-head (I have a Plus and a 512 holding up some
> bookshelves in my living room right now, and my evangelista number was
just
> barely into three digits, if you need credentials) let me try to correct
> some misconceptions:
>
> Sound editing apps -- depends upon what you're after but a lot of
> professional houses do *all* their sound editing on Macs. I've worked with
> a local band that does all their CD prep work (recording, mixing, etc.)
> with Macs. So, they're out there.
>
> Availability of apps in general -- fewer apps on the Mac platform, true,
> but the biggest effect of that is that you only get to chose between 6
word
> processors instead of 30, for example. Especially now that OSX has
shipped,
> and the X on X project is coming up to speed, you can always recompile any
> of the open source apps you need for it. NOTE: tcl/tk support for aqua
(the
> gumdrop doohickies) is still chancey, so if what you're recompiling
insists
> on it you might need to do some work before getting the app to run that
> way. I haven't tried using the "normal" tcl/tk libraries, so I can't tell
> you how well they build a normal X app on OSX.
>
> Speed. This is highly subjective and also highly dependent upon compiler
> and publisher. MS apps run slowly on MacOS, mainly because MS doesn't seem
> to understand any platform but intel (heck, they even ran slowly on
> *alphas* back when they supported NT on that chip). Photoshop runs faster
> on MacOS, probably because that's what the coders started with. GCC
> compiler is poor at optimizing for PowerPC, ISTM, so a lot of the open
> source apps could perform better if built with a different compiler. The
> MrC and MrC++ compilers seem to produce better and faster code. Probably
> another case of the coders not being familiar enough with the chip, but
I'm
> only guessing at that. I think IBM released some of their optimizing
> compiler code to the OS community a little while ago, so that may improve.
>
> Windows Media Player exists on Mac as well (don't know where that canard
> came from, but I keep seeing it repeated as gospel).
>
> General advice: forget the ideologies. Look at your tools. What are you
> using and what will you be using? If all your tools exist on the platform
> you're considering, then there's no worries.
>
> I saw you mention HomeSite, sorry, Allaire had a thing about not
developing
> for Mac, so it's not there, except perhaps in DWMX (I haven't seen that,
> yet. It's another case of not having a particular product but several
> similar ones. But BBEdit was what shipped on the Mac side of the house
with
> Dreamweaver, so have a look at it. I've never used HomeSite, only looked
at
> it, but I like BBE; I don't think you'll be disappointed.
>
> I'll end with the same advice I give everyone. Pick the software first,
and
> then find the hardware it runs best on. Don't worry about what anyone else
> feels about what you've chosen. Everyone has a different work style, and
> different computers will fit those work styles better or worse. The
> hardware there in front of you is just a tool; it says nothing at all
about
> your life, or your worth. Find the one that fits your hand best, that you
> feel most comfortable using, then tell everyone else to take a long walk
> off a short pier and get on with it.
>
> Have fun,
> Arlen
> Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
> DNRC 224
>
> Arlen.P.Walker at JCI.Com
> ----------------------------------------------
> In God we trust; all others must provide data.
> ----------------------------------------------
> Opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.
> If JCI had an opinion on this, they'd hire someone else to deliver it.
>
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