This is a sort of general question about something that has been bugging me... and I can't seem to get an answer. If MAX OS X is "linux based" and "running on top of linux" then why can't is be relatively easy to find a way to get OS X software to run on linux (or at least easy for the companies to recompile their stuff for linux with minor changes). There is wine for windows programs and windows is totally different than linux... so wtf. The reason it's frustrating for me is that I like linux a lot... mainly because it's not microsoft and it's immune to viruses, and I feel the only thing holding linux back is the lack of real, commercial (quality) software (Photoshop, Corel DRAW, Dreamweaver, instant messaging with webcam, mp3 download to personal player (netMD, itunes), or any type of movie player that is anywhere near the quality of windows media player (The only player for linux is realplayer... and it doesn't play AVI or MPEG... the two most common formats!).

>>If MAX OS X is "linux based" and "running on top of linux" Mac OSX is not Linux based. It is BSD based. BSD is not Linux. >>why can't is be relatively easy to find a way to get OS X software to run on linux The idea that OSX is "running on top of" another operating system (BSD) is a vast oversimplification. It is more correct to say that BSD is a subsystem of OSX. There is a lot more involved in porting apps to/from OSX than simply "recompiling". >> I feel the only thing holding linux back is the lack of real, commercial (quality) software All the software you mentioned can be run on *nix platforms under WINE. There are also alternative native apps that are pretty much comparable in terms of features. >>Photoshop GIMP. >>download to personal player (netMD, itunes) gtkpod. >>the only player for linux is realplayer... and it doesn't play AVI or MPEG Mplayer. ...for example :)

>>Mac OSX is not Linux based. It is BSD based. BSD is not Linux. Thanks, I didn't know that! Well, then... forget mac OS X. >>The idea that OSX is "running on top of" another operating system (BSD) is a vast oversimplification. It is more correct to say that BSD is a subsystem of OSX. Ok, I didn't know that either. >>There is a lot more involved in porting apps to/from OSX than simply "recompiling". Yes, there is, but I was hoping (since I thought OSX was similar to linux) that those differences would be minimal. It shouldn't be all that difficult to port something in general, though, right? As long as you have access to the source code. The only difference between compilers is the libraries they use, and the target CPU, right? so the target would actually be the same (x86) and so the only difference is the libraries that contain the OS functions, yes yes? cut the source... paste it... replace the includes and function calls... recompile. wee! >>All the software you mentioned can be run on *nix platforms under WINE. That is actually completely false. None of those work in WINE. Photoshop is the only one that even loads, and it is even given a "works with some errors" rating by the authors of WINE. >>GIMP I've used corel since 1989 (and others have used photoshop for nearly as long), so the insignificant differences people attribute to "GIMP" are a little more obvious. You can't just introduce a new app into a field that has been going for years and expect people to convert. >>gtkpod Never used it.... skeptical. >>MPlayer too sketchy. i had to do some serious tinkering to get divx and play mpegs or avis... some would not play properly... there was wierd buggy behavior and the interface blows. there needs to be something more official. Trust me, I want to leave windows, but it's very frustrating. I think we all agree that if linux is to succeed in toppling windows, it needs more high caliber software.

It sounds like most of your objections to *nix apps are due to your inability to get them to run properly :) >>You can't just introduce a new app into a field that has been going for years and expect people to convert. But this is exactly what you're asking, isn't it: I feel the only thing holding linux back is the lack of real, commercial (quality) software If the only thing "holding Linux back" is a lack of apps then any new apps with comparable features should be adopted instantly, right? You contradict yourself. The idea of Linux "toppling" windows is ridiculous. Even if it could, why should it? The last time I went into a hardware store, they had more than one hammer for sale. Different tools for different jobs. Besides, *nix already dominates segments of the market. Internet servers, for one example. When you talk about "toppling windows" you need to define in what area or the discussion is meaningless. On the desktop? Not likely to happen any time soon. On backoffice servers? Linux has made significant inroads in that area in the past several years. Internet application servers? Fait accompli - Windows never had dominance in that area. Why do you "want to leave Windows" so badly? You seem to have a toolset on Windows that serves you well, and by your own admission is irreplaceable on *nix platforms. So why the need to change? You haven't bought into the "Windows is evil/Linux is sexy" myth have you?

Since you thought realplayer was the only movie player 'for Linux', it is clear you are new to free and open source software. I will take a deep breath and remain calm ;-) For many reasons, Windows Media Player is not even comparable to a properly configured mplayer or xine or vlc. If you have had problems it is probably your own fault: avi is just a file format, mpeg is a set of codecs and specifications and divx is just one particular implementation of mpeg4. The major free software players can handle them all as well as or better than alternative commercial software but it is up to you to configure (and possibly build) them so that they will work properly. Unless you have paid for a distro, you have no right to complain, and even then not about the free software itself - read the relevant license(s). As a member of the FLOSS user community you are not a paying customer of "Linux Inc." - you are expected to figure things out for yourself and preferably contribute bug reports and fixes where you do find genuine problems. If you really cannot find free software equivalents of as high or higher calibre than the commercial software you are used to, and that certainly is the case in some areas, it is no use complaining: the only response you will get from the community is "write it yourself then!" There is plenty of proprietary commercial software for *nix and you are welcome to buy it and complain about it but you would get a nasty shock if for example you took that vendor-customer attitude into #gimp or #mozilla. As jimminy points out: the free and open source software community is not some centralised corporation bent on "toppling Windows", it's work certainly is often technically superior to commercial equivalents but if you don't like it, you don't complain - you either help to make it better or try something else. Perhaps you will eventually come to appreciate the power and freedom FLOSS gives you, for which a loss of glossy commercial convenience is a small price to pay, and which is why it exists in the first place.

MPlayer has worked better for me than any Windows player I've ever used, especially Windows Media Player. It supports all kinds of crazy codecs like OGG Theora (yes, I do have a video that uses it), can resync audio and video (had a video once with a ~1min skew), and has keyboard shortcuts for all major functionality, to name a few of my favorite features. The only time I ever have trouble with MPlayer is trying to configure DVD languages and subtitles, so I often use Ogle for foreign language DVDs. jimminy, NT-based Windows isn't that bad of a product, but I think Microsoft abuses their desktop OS monopoly. To extend your hammer analogy, imagine if you had to have a certain hammer to pound most popular nails, but if the hardware store sold any other brand of hammer, they couldn't sell that one. That's what Microsoft was doing to OEMs. Or imagine if they used their incredible wealth from making hammers to sell screwdrivers at a significant loss to try to get into the screwdriver market. The screwdriver is the X-Box. I'm not sure I agree with the WMP and IE issues raised in the US and EU, but I'm mostly libertarian and think Microsoft needs restrictions.

In other words....don't panic Jake, I don't think Windows is a bad product at all. Given the choice, I would prefer to (and do) support it rather than Linux on the corporate desktop. My hammer analogy was flawed - just a quick and dirty way to illustrate a point. Don't extend it too far. >>I'm mostly libertarian and think Microsoft needs restrictions. I find this incredibly ironic ;)