In Just
for Fun, Linus Torvalds' recent memoir of the early days of
Linux, Torvalds recounts meeting Steve Jobs and Apple technical
chief Avie Tevanian.
"Basically, Jobs started off by telling me that on the desktop
there were just two players, Microsoft and Apple, and that he
thought the best thing I could do for Linux was to get in bed with
Apple and try to get the open source people behind Mac OS X,"
Torvalds writes.
"Jobs made a big point of the fact that Mach's low-level kernel
is open source. He sort of played down the flaw in the setup: Who
cares if the basic operating system . . . is open source
if you then have the Mac layer on top, which is not open
source?"
Well, no one says the Mac layer has to be open, but on the other
hand - if OS X is built on a free Unix, does Apple have an
obligation to return something substantial to the open source
community?
Legally, no, and let's face it - the goals of Apple and the
Linux folks are mutually exclusive. Apple says "We have the neat
stuff. Come buy it from us." Linux says "You can build the neat
stuff yourself. Let us help."
However, you can argue that there's a moral obligation on
Apple's part. Mach and Unix are why OS X is so stable, so
Apple is profiting from open source software.
That's okay: after all, there are a number of companies
profiting (or attempting to profit) from the sale of Linux.
However, they don't keep big chunks of their code under lock and
key.
And Apple? Apple provides the plumbing for OS X in the form
of "Darwin," which is released under the company's own version of
an open source license.
However, Darwin is flawed as open source. A recent posting on
penguinppc.org points out,
"Apple does not fully release the Darwin source into the public
source. Key drivers are left out, and some workarounds for chip
bugs are pulled before the public versions are made available."
The point? Penguinppc.org concludes "This keeps Linux
developers from using the Darwin source as a reference."
If true, this strikes me as a shot directly at the open source
folks. You can make a pretty good case for keeping the "Mac part"
of OS X private: what case can you make for taking from open
source and then not providing the bare minimum needed to get open
source running on your hardware?
Apple is not likely to listen to such arguments, anymore than it
is likely to see the foolishness of suppressing the user groups
that distributed older versions of its software, but it makes the
company's continuing claim to somehow being hipper, better than the
rest (read: Wintel) nothing more than advertising.
Maxed out WallStreet runs Tiger quite nicely, 05.05.
It's no speed demon, but with a 300 MHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and a newer hard drive, it's a cheap way to have a notebook Mac.
Free Time Machine Editor does one thing and does it well, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 05.12.
If Time Machine's habit of backing up every hour is impacting your work flow, this free utility gives you control options that Apple didn't build into Time Machine.
Low End Mac's Compleat Guide to Mac OS 9, 2008 edition, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 05.12.
Declared dead by Steve Jobs 6 years ago, Mac OS 9 remains fast and stable, but Classic software hasn't kept up with Web changes. What Macs support OS 9, where to buy it, and how to update it.
Mac of the Day: Macintosh LC, Oct. 1990 - only 3" tall, the LC was the least expensive color Mac in 1990.
List of the Day: Jaguar List is for anyone using Mac OS X 10.2.x.
May 12 in LEM history: 99: Is Apple missing the boat? - 00: PowerBook history - Frankenstein Power Mac - 03: Beige Power Mac G3 - Is a 5400 worth buying? - Upgrades for the tray-loading iMac - Quiet computing - 04: Windows stability: Nothing changes - Broadband Internet access: Picking the right speed - 06: The future of PowerPC Macs in the Intel era - Setting up a 68040-based Mac media center - Mac mini Core Duo upgrades
Apple's eMate still a great tool in the classroom, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 05.09.
How one teacher equipped his classroom with eMates with his own money - and plans to keep using them as long as possible.
140 million copies of Vista sold (yawn), Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 05.09.
It sounds like a lot, but over 85% of Windows users are staying away from Vista. 20% of Mac users have embraced Leopard in one-third the time.
Best Power Mac G4 deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.09.
Used Cube, $479; 400 MHz PCI, $70; 450 AGP, $105; 733 DA, $150; 867 QS, $200; 1 GHz, $250; 450 dual, $295; 1 GHz dual, $400; 1.42, $600; more.
Best 15" MacBook Pro deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.09.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $1,100; 2.16, $1,295; refurb, 2.2 Core2, $1,449; 2.4 Penryn, $1,699; 2.5, $2,149; new 2.2, $1,525 after rebate; 2.4, $1,685 a/r; more.
Best iPod touch deals, Low End Mac Deals, 05.09.
Refurb 8 GB '08, $249; 16 GB '07, $329; '08, $349; new 8 GB '07. $269; '08, $280; 16 GB '07, $330; '08, $369; 32 GB, $475.
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