“As we look at Mac OS X in general, and Darwin in
particular, I think we begin to see a trend. So much of Mac OS X is
based on open source technology, like BSD for example, that Apple
may finally have found the magic formula of open and proprietary
ingredients to broaden its following of cutting-edge
developers.”
“At last year’s Open Source Convention in Monterey, CA, I saw as
many PowerBooks as I’ve ever seen at any Apple event. Many people
who love computers, and the magic that they contain, love Apple
hardware — and for good reason: Apple hardware is beautiful inside
and out. The obstacle to the full embrace of Apple hardware has
been the antiquated operating system. … Much in the same way that
Steve Jobs had to pluck floppy drives from our desktops and toss
them on the scrap heap, he’s now having to yank the “pretty on the
outside, but moldy on the inside” OS and replace it with, of all
things, a Unix-based operating system.”
“…not only is Apple on the verge of a new technology era with
Mac OS X, they have the opportunity to attract an audience who
believes that the next generation of computing depends as much on
how software is created and distributed as on how it is used.
Ironically, this revolutionary thinking reminds me of a 1980s Apple
vision of how hardware should be made available to the masses.”