Apple Pitches OS X to Linux Conference: Not Just Another Distro


Apple has made its first appearance at the Linux Expo, challenging Linux users to give OS X a long, hard look.

The Expo ran until yesterday in London, and Apple is pushing the concept of a friendly, easy-to-use GUI with a BSD-Unix backbone.

ZDNet's coverage of the conference noted plenty of Mac portables sported by the attendees. According to the article, Apple has been pitching its technologies at the Unix crowd. These include the microkernal at the heart of OS X which supports kernel extensions, obviating the need for recompilations when adding new features.

Apple also pushed for Unix apps to come to OS X, arguing that every Unix application can be ported over to X. Quartz Extreme, a major feature of Apple's current X.2 Jaguar release, was also touted for its ability to reduce the workload carried by the CPU by palming graphics loads onto the video card. Mutlimedia and 3D rendering, Apple says, can run faster on OS X faster than RedHat Linux on a P4, largely due to Quartz Extreme.

Cupertino says proudly that it is the # 1 supplier of Unix for the desktop, a sector Linux hopes to make significant gains in.

Analysis: While Apple has made only part of its code open source - probably a key sticking point for Linux devotees, OS X offers something no Linux does, as IGM's Derek Currie noted in a comment recently: true plug and play.

Apple is right to push its wares at conferences like Linux Expo as it puts Apple in front of users who may never even have the Mac on their radar. If Linux users are already toting iBooks and PowerBooks, there are potentially thousands more switchers among the Linux fraternity.