[Discussion] Unix/Linux [was: eCS and other woes]

[Joseph Hansen]

January 15, 2007

I'm a user who went directly from DOS to OS/2, and have never used  
windows of any flavor as a main operating system.  As some members of  
this forum will remember, I bought a Mac about two years ago to  
facilitate scanning of some 8,000 photographic slides.  I also  
restored, enhanced, and organized the pictures, and created about 30  
DVD slide shows from them, including some that feature voice-over  
annotation.

Those of us who use Linux or any other flavor of UNIX should be aware  
that MacIntosh OS X is really just a big graphical user interface  
built onto a Unix platform.  More specifically, it runs on Darwin,  
which is UC Berkeley's BSD Unix, enhanced with the Mach kernal, a  
multi-user and multi-tasking system.  Apple has added a few of its  
own extensions, but Linux users will feel right at home.

For anyone wanting to learn more at a fairly basic level, I recommend  
"Unix for Mac OS X Tiger," by Dave Taylor, published by O'Reilly  
Books.  Your local library either has it or can get it on inter- 
library loan.



Joseph J Hansen
Lexington Strategic Associates
221 Follen Road, Lexington, MA 02421-5802

tel (781) 863-5003
jhansen at LexSA.com,  www.LexSA.com