Mac OS X and Vista through the eyes of Linus

“Apple's well-known OS X Leopard is in some cases worse than Windows Vista,” said Linux founder Linus Torvalds.


Last week, Torvalds was at the conference linux.conf.au in Melbourne, where he was invited to a discussion on the comparison of OS X and Windows Vista.
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“I do not think they are equally bad - I think Leopard is much better. But OS X in some cases is worse for a programmer than Windows Vista. For example, the file system sucks. ”

He despises the current trends in the release of new versions and patches for the OS as a reason for joy and marketing.

“The operating system should be completely invisible. And for Microsoft and Apple, this is a way to force the user to upgrade software and computer. ”

As for its OS, Linus noted that the most important achievements were obtaining a green card and installing it on mobile devices, such as through the Laptop per Child program and the ultra-cheap Asus Eee.

Later, he noted that Asian manufacturers could start bypassing Western operating systems to improve control over their products.

“This is the main industry in which open source software (like Linux) is useful. Software development is actually expensive and takes years. If you're a hardware manufacturer, you can't afford it. A situation arises when you have a choice: either to allow yourself to be controlled, or to take existing developments that you can add for yourself. ”

“Linux can be a natural solution for everything from servers to phones or video players,” Linus said.

“I think this is the most likely way the market will want to move. The hardware of modern mobile devices exceeds the capabilities of desktop computers 15 years ago, from which Linux emerged.
The Linux kernel was already used in the phones, but there were problems with the user interface. ”

He also noted that Linux finally boasts a genuine green certificate after many years of hard work.

He and his colleagues rewrote almost every part of the OS kernel to improve the manageability of the system. They also made it possible to track the most resource-intensive parts of the hardware and software.

Linus also thanked Google for contributing to the development of open source software, which at the beginning of its journey was a “black hole” for talented programmers.