HOME
TOPICS
ABOUT ME
MAIL

 
The phenomenonal growth of Linux will hurt Microsoft for sure. But it also could short-circuit Apple Computer's chance to make a big comeback.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Why Apple may be the big loser in the Linux onslaught

July 18, 1999
 

By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 1999, The Syracuse Newspapers

    The biggest loser to the onslaught of Linux might not be Microsoft after all. It might be Apple.
    Microsoft has a lot at stake. There's no question about that. But until now the computer that stood as the rational alternative to a Windows PC was a Macintosh -- from Apple, of course.
    That's all changed now. The obvious alternative to a Windows PC is a Linux PC. Say what you want about the Mac's ease of use and svelte design. The facts are clear: Linux PCs are much cheaper than Windows PCs to own and operate and they're far more reliable. Given the big price differences between PC hardware and Mac hardware -- Macs cost hundreds of dollars more -- this means Linux PCs are a great deal cheaper than Macs to own and operate. And they're just as reliable as Macs in normal use and probably a lot more reliable in heavy-duty use.
    Add to this the huge superiority that Linux PCs have over Macs in operating-system design -- Linux is a modern multitasking system that takes firm control over everything that's going on -- and you've just written off any chance Apple might have had for a comeback.
        But what about Apple's secret weapon, the new operating system called OS-X? (The "X" is a Roman numeral, so you'd better pronounce this "oh-ess-ex" or your Mac friends will laugh.) OS-X is based on the same heavy-duty approach that Linux uses, and should be much better than all other Mac operating systems. But it will have three big problems:
    It's too little, too late. It won't be available until late in 1999 or maybe even early in 2000. Consumer versions of Linux are here NOW. Linux is growing faster than any other operating system in the history of computers. Every week that Apple diddles means thousands of lost sales.
    It's not Linux. Every modern operating system is going to be judged against one standard, and that standard is Linux. (It's already happening. Ask the folks who have been championing a wonderful operating system called FreeBSD. It's somewhat like Linux, but it will never get much of a following because "somewhat like" is not good enough. If an operating system is not Linux, it's just not going to grab the attention of all the millions of PC users who are sick and tired of Windows.)
    It's not freely fixable. Linux is an Open Source operating system; OS-X won't be. In its simplest form, Open Source stands for software that everybody is allowed to improve and fix. Problems with Linux and other Open Source programs are often fixed in a single day. Apple can't possibly compete with that kind of service. OS-X will be another interesting operating system, whereas Linux is already the operating system for the next decade.