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The author doesn't mention macOS much but I think it deserves some credit of being the last high volume unix workstation around.

by st3fan 4y ago

HybridCurve 4y ago
I think it's difficult to give full credit to macOS as being a true Unix workstation. It is more like a desktop operating system built over Unix since the desktop environment and utilities are not as well integrated into the underlying Unix environment.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  That is its NeXTSTEP roots showing up. Steve Jobs was always quite open about his opinion on UNIX, and there are a couple of vintage videos where this comes up. NeXTSTEP compatibility with UNIX wasn't much different from Microsoft goals in supporting POSIX on NT (initially), only to enter the market and ensure existing UNIX stuff could be ported into NeXTSTEP. OS X followed the same idea.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- throw0101a 4y ago
  > I think it's difficult to give full credit to macOS as being a true Unix workstation. The FoxTrot comic strip referenced Mac OS X's "Unix underpinnings" back in 2002: * https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot/2002/02/25 https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot/2002/02/25 See also Tim O'Reilly (of tech book fame): > O’Reilly suggested through his own anecdotal evidence that switching from other platforms to Mac OS X is a strong trend particularly for what he calls “alpha geeks” — people who are key decision-makers or influencers on technology development and policy. Many of these “alpha geeks” appear to be trading in Wintel iron with Linux installed on it for Mac OS X instead. And while many of them appear to be continuing to depend on Windows for work, they’re using Mac OS X on their own time or for special projects they would have used Linux boxes for, not too far in the past. * https://www.macworld.com/article/155519/oreilly-7.html https://www.macworld.com/article/155519/oreilly-7.html It's been a 'selling point' for over twenty years now.
cf100clunk 4y ago
Tough to make that case from the same historical perspective and era the author has used. In today's environment, sure, Apple's OS can be a Unix-like workstation, but back in the day... In my own experience, rarely was a Macintosh even considered for Unix workstation replacement, although in the early OS X era we once brought in a brand new G3 purely for testing of portability but it was not a success for our needs so it was eventually used only for light office-related workloads. We never got around to trying a NeXT workstation. EDITED to add: IMHO only a lot of setup work i.e. Homebrew can make a modern macOS machine comparable to a classic Unix-like workstation for traditional UNIX capabilities.

The author doesn't mention macOS much but I think it deserves some credit of being the last high volume unix workstation around.

by st3fan 4y ago

The author doesn't mention macOS much but I think it deserves some credit of being the last high volume unix workstation around.

HybridCurve 4y ago

I think it's difficult to give full credit to macOS as being a true Unix workstation. It is more like a desktop operating system built over Unix since the desktop environment and utilities are not as well integrated into the underlying Unix environment.

pjmlp 4y ago
That is its NeXTSTEP roots showing up. Steve Jobs was always quite open about his opinion on UNIX, and there are a couple of vintage videos where this comes up. NeXTSTEP compatibility with UNIX wasn't much different from Microsoft goals in supporting POSIX on NT (initially), only to enter the market and ensure existing UNIX stuff could be ported into NeXTSTEP. OS X followed the same idea.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
throw0101a 4y ago
> I think it's difficult to give full credit to macOS as being a true Unix workstation. The FoxTrot comic strip referenced Mac OS X's "Unix underpinnings" back in 2002: * https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot/2002/02/25 https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot/2002/02/25 See also Tim O'Reilly (of tech book fame): > O’Reilly suggested through his own anecdotal evidence that switching from other platforms to Mac OS X is a strong trend particularly for what he calls “alpha geeks” — people who are key decision-makers or influencers on technology development and policy. Many of these “alpha geeks” appear to be trading in Wintel iron with Linux installed on it for Mac OS X instead. And while many of them appear to be continuing to depend on Windows for work, they’re using Mac OS X on their own time or for special projects they would have used Linux boxes for, not too far in the past. * https://www.macworld.com/article/155519/oreilly-7.html https://www.macworld.com/article/155519/oreilly-7.html It's been a 'selling point' for over twenty years now.

cf100clunk 4y ago

Tough to make that case from the same historical perspective and era the author has used. In today's environment, sure, Apple's OS can be a Unix-like workstation, but back in the day... In my own experience, rarely was a Macintosh even considered for Unix workstation replacement, although in the early OS X era we once brought in a brand new G3 purely for testing of portability but it was not a success for our needs so it was eventually used only for light office-related workloads. We never got around to trying a NeXT workstation. EDITED to add: IMHO only a lot of setup work i.e. Homebrew can make a modern macOS machine comparable to a classic Unix-like workstation for traditional UNIX capabilities.