Well, one of the big draws of Ubuntu is that GUIwise it's at least comparable to OS9 (thanks to the UI freaks at Gnome) and that its focus, unlike other Linuces, really is on having everything Just Work(tm)
I guess I should have mentioned I haven't tried Ubuntu specifically, but whether or not it's a good distribution is separate from my point. It's still Linux, and the experience is more harsh and demanding than Mac OS X.
Apple's first priority with Mac OS X was to make it a consumer OS. Everything else -- system services, applications, UI, documentation, API, even the business model -- branches off of that.
While it sounds like the Ubuntu people are putting in a solid effort (which I truly admire), it's an immense task to bend Linux to the Mac OS X level of usability and polish. Apple has a giant lead in this area and the culture to support it.
by Scott Stevenson — Jul 10
I guess I should have mentioned I haven't tried Ubuntu specifically, but whether or not it's a good distribution is separate from my point. It's still Linux, and the experience is more harsh and demanding than Mac OS X.
Apple's first priority with Mac OS X was to make it a consumer OS. Everything else -- system services, applications, UI, documentation, API, even the business model -- branches off of that.
While it sounds like the Ubuntu people are putting in a solid effort (which I truly admire), it's an immense task to bend Linux to the Mac OS X level of usability and polish. Apple has a giant lead in this area and the culture to support it.