SL Baur's Journal: Unix *is* for desktops and has been for a long time

Mac OS X is Unix inside and Unix is not an acronym. Please don't call us "geeks". I've run multiuser, multitasking systems at home since 1985 starting with System V boxes. Before my Macbook Pro, the x86 systems I have owned ran Linux.

I care that:

• /bin/zsh is standard. I've been a diehard zsh fan for almost 20 years
• You can run X11 apps alongside your Mac apps and (when Apple doesn't break it) it comes standard with the system
• It plays the games worth playing - the number one gaming company in the US, Blizzard, supports Mac OS X and at least in the case of World of Warcraft, works better on OS X than Microsoft Windows
• Emacs comes standard (I wish they distributed XEmacs, but you can't have everything)
• Open Spaces is really, really good and I've been hooked on virtual desktop systems since I tried olvwm in 1995
• I like the NeXTStep style interface. I was a big fan of WindowMaker before I finally switched to KDE
• Mrs. Baur loves her Mac.

I'm not going to upgrade to Snow Leopard for Microsoft Windows support. The Citrix client runs the only app I need to run for work.

I keep a fair distance away from Microsoft Windows. On the unfortunate occasions when I've tried to use it, I've always felt like either gouging my eyes out because of the eye-searing color contrast, or driving a screwdriver through my forehead because of the frustrating user interface, or both.

Sun had viable desktop graphics systems before there was ever a Microsoft Windows. They did great work in GUIs in the early to mid 80s. Unfortunately they have always been economically challenged when it came to price points and I suppose that's the main reason why they sold themselves to Oracle.

When Jobs was in exile he did the NeXT, a direct competitor to Sun on the desktop and with a similar architecture (Unix inside). NeXTStep, the NeXT user interface was later reborn as OS X.

There is a long history of GUIs on top of Unix (and its descendents) as an OS.

What kind of system will I buy my sons when they're old enough?

1. Mac OS X or Linux where they can get lots (or all) of the source code and learn programming by tinkering with the system.
2. Microsoft Windows where they can learn to be obedient Microsoft Windows office drones.

"Your homework assignment for tonight son, is how many places can you find Daddy's name in Changelogs."

No brainer, at least for me. Unix, live free or die!