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It's interesting that Linus believes that Linux is the most widely deployed Unix. I would have guessed that MacOS X might have surpassed it by now. Edit: Oop

by pohl 17y ago

It's interesting that Linus believes that Linux is the most widely deployed Unix. I would have guessed that MacOS X might have surpassed it by now. Edit: Oops...this is from 2001

yan 17y ago
Well, firstly that post was written eight years ago. Secondly, OS X might surpass it on Desktops, but what about servers, computing clusters and so on?
- mbrubeck 17y ago
  Not to mention phones, TiVos, netbooks, routers, Kindles, NAS devices...
  - rythie 17y ago
    OS X is on a lot of phones though (the iPhone)
    - axod 17y ago
      linux is on most wireless access points, routers, etc :/ That's a lot of units.
- pohl 17y ago
  Yeah, I missed the date. He didn't need to pile on the caveats and squint to make it true back then.
  - gloob 17y ago
    If "servers and embedded devices" are a "caveat" to you, I'm intrigued about the world you live in.
    - pohl 17y ago
      I'm not here to spar. I was just using the generally accepted definition of the term. Defining a specific market segment is, by nature, adding a condition or limitation that adds some necessary context for certain statements: Nature Valley Peanut Butter Granola Bars are the most widely deployed snack...in my cubicle.
      - nollidge 17y ago
        I think you misunderstand the OP then - it wasn't a limitation, it was an expansion. Edit: I guess the OP wasn't that specific, but this seems to be the right way to look at things - all deployed installations of Linux, regardless of application.
bad_user 17y ago
Linux is still the most deployed Unix. Even if a commercial version (like OS X) may surpass it in the future, it will contain parts from modern Linux distributions. And it wouldn't last too long. What I like about Linux is that it is getting better and better. And it also is the most versatile OS available. I first used Linux in 1997, when I first tried a Red Hat CD included in a magazine I read. The user experience was just awful, while today's Ubuntu Linux is almost as good as Windows and OS X. The kernel has also seen major improvements, especially in stability and drivers. My wireless stick, the sound card, my video card ... these work out-of-the-box on Ubuntu. The communities around Linux may move slower, and have fewer surprises, but they do move forward constantly. In contrast, Microsoft may have the resources to pull off a Windows XP, but every once in a while bad things happen ... like Windows ME, Vista (after 5 or 6 years of waiting), a frozen IExplorer, etc... One day a distribution like Ubuntu or OpenSuse will be as good as Windows or OS X. When that happens, you can't beat its price or the freedoms that come with it, even if people don't like changing their environment. This is exactly what's happening with Firefox or any other successful open-source projects out there ... once they reach critical mass, they are unstoppable.
- RyanMcGreal 17y ago
  I had a nice experience last night. I was one of several presenters at a community council meeting, and my netbook - an Acer Aspire One with Ubuntu 9.04 - was the designated AV device. I was worried and showed up early, but getting my display projected onto the big screen was as simple as enabling the projector as a second monitor and mirroring it with my display. (Also, two PowerPoint shows with animations and so on worked seamlessly on the OpenOffice PowerPoint clone.) In contrast, I've seen plenty of Windows XP and Mac OSX laptops totally choke at working with a projector.
  - tensor 17y ago
    Claiming that windows and mac laptops have more trouble working with a projector than Linux is bold indeed, and I think very misleading. Strangely, in all the time I've been to talks, I've never seen a single Windows or Mac laptop have any trouble with a projector. In contrast, I've seen a few Linux machines have trouble to the point where the presenter gave up and used a different computer. Granted that was a few years ago, it's nice to hear that Ubuntu has improved so much in recent times. I remember just three or so years ago getting a second monitor enabled would often require quite a lot of effort on Linux.

by pohl 17y ago

It's interesting that Linus believes that Linux is the most widely deployed Unix. I would have guessed that MacOS X might have surpassed it by now. Edit: Oops...this is from 2001

yan 17y ago

Well, firstly that post was written eight years ago. Secondly, OS X might surpass it on Desktops, but what about servers, computing clusters and so on?

mbrubeck 17y ago
Not to mention phones, TiVos, netbooks, routers, Kindles, NAS devices...
- rythie 17y ago
  OS X is on a lot of phones though (the iPhone)
  - axod 17y ago
    linux is on most wireless access points, routers, etc :/ That's a lot of units.
pohl 17y ago
Yeah, I missed the date. He didn't need to pile on the caveats and squint to make it true back then.
- gloob 17y ago
  If "servers and embedded devices" are a "caveat" to you, I'm intrigued about the world you live in.
  - pohl 17y ago
    I'm not here to spar. I was just using the generally accepted definition of the term. Defining a specific market segment is, by nature, adding a condition or limitation that adds some necessary context for certain statements: Nature Valley Peanut Butter Granola Bars are the most widely deployed snack...in my cubicle.
    - nollidge 17y ago
      I think you misunderstand the OP then - it wasn't a limitation, it was an expansion. Edit: I guess the OP wasn't that specific, but this seems to be the right way to look at things - all deployed installations of Linux, regardless of application.

bad_user 17y ago

Linux is still the most deployed Unix. Even if a commercial version (like OS X) may surpass it in the future, it will contain parts from modern Linux distributions. And it wouldn't last too long. What I like about Linux is that it is getting better and better. And it also is the most versatile OS available. I first used Linux in 1997, when I first tried a Red Hat CD included in a magazine I read. The user experience was just awful, while today's Ubuntu Linux is almost as good as Windows and OS X. The kernel has also seen major improvements, especially in stability and drivers. My wireless stick, the sound card, my video card ... these work out-of-the-box on Ubuntu. The communities around Linux may move slower, and have fewer surprises, but they do move forward constantly. In contrast, Microsoft may have the resources to pull off a Windows XP, but every once in a while bad things happen ... like Windows ME, Vista (after 5 or 6 years of waiting), a frozen IExplorer, etc... One day a distribution like Ubuntu or OpenSuse will be as good as Windows or OS X. When that happens, you can't beat its price or the freedoms that come with it, even if people don't like changing their environment. This is exactly what's happening with Firefox or any other successful open-source projects out there ... once they reach critical mass, they are unstoppable.

RyanMcGreal 17y ago
I had a nice experience last night. I was one of several presenters at a community council meeting, and my netbook - an Acer Aspire One with Ubuntu 9.04 - was the designated AV device. I was worried and showed up early, but getting my display projected onto the big screen was as simple as enabling the projector as a second monitor and mirroring it with my display. (Also, two PowerPoint shows with animations and so on worked seamlessly on the OpenOffice PowerPoint clone.) In contrast, I've seen plenty of Windows XP and Mac OSX laptops totally choke at working with a projector.
- tensor 17y ago
  Claiming that windows and mac laptops have more trouble working with a projector than Linux is bold indeed, and I think very misleading. Strangely, in all the time I've been to talks, I've never seen a single Windows or Mac laptop have any trouble with a projector. In contrast, I've seen a few Linux machines have trouble to the point where the presenter gave up and used a different computer. Granted that was a few years ago, it's nice to hear that Ubuntu has improved so much in recent times. I remember just three or so years ago getting a second monitor enabled would often require quite a lot of effort on Linux.