[Tfug] Why Desktop Linux Holds Its Own Against OS X | bMighty.com

[Zack Williams]

The point is frankly usability. How many people here have had to fight
with video/network drivers on linux?   Or power management on a
laptop?    These are almost non-issues on the Mac, because of the
hardware/software tie-in.

Anyone here set up a small business network with DNS, directory
services (LDAP) and single sign on (Kerberos) using a free OS
recently?    How long did it take you?    How much did that time cost?
   On OS X Server, that's a half hour job for someone who knows what
they're doing.    The value proposition for OS X is pretty incredible
in a lot of business-centric circumstances.

Mac OS X wraps a whole lot of good things from the open source
community in a comprehensive functional distribution, and also
contributes back (see http://www.macosforge.org/, and projects like
WebKit and launchd).

I'm not saying they're perfect - the DRM issues and the fact that they
don't support older OS releases as long as I'd like are annoying.    I
support free operating systems - often an OpenBSD, FreeBSD,
OpenSolairs or Linux box is the appropriate solution for meeting
someones needs.    But for an end user who wants to get work done with
a minimum of problems, OS X is a pretty slick solution.

In terms of cost, Apple doesn't make crap, and thus their machines
aren't cheap.  What really makes them a winner is that the long term
support costs are much less than Windows.

Then again, I'm biased - I'm an old hand at Apple having cut my teeth
on a 512k, and am currently the only up to date Apple certified system
administrator in town.

- Zack