macnn
02/05/2008, 5:00pm, EST
Tuesday, February 5th
Torvalds: Leopard file system "utter crap"
Linux creator Linus Torvalds recently blasted Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard for having a file system that is "complete and utter crap" at a Linux conference in Melbourne. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Torvalds says that while he prefers Leopard to Windows Vista, both companies are guilty of using their respective operating systems as a way of exacting control over their users, forcing both software and hardware upgrades upon them. This was in response to a query on what he felt regarding the two systems.
On his own creation, he noted that operating systems should be invisible. Torvalds said he feels that Asian hardware manufacturers are leaning towards Linux as a way of bypassing environmental limitations.
"That's the primary area that open source (software like Linux) is useful. Software is really expensive to produce and takes years," Torvalds said. He continues, "If you're a hardware company you can't really afford that, you either have to be controlled from the outside or take a pre-existing software stack that you can make changes to."
Filed under: industry, developer, Apple
Other story tags: Linux, Melbourne, Linus Torvalds
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lighten up Linus
seriously, what is so horrible about the OS X file system? i've got 6 hard drives, some connected via SATA internally, other connected via Firewire. all of them seem to store data just fine, my photos are easily accessible, etc.
but i guess from an esoteric engineering standpoint when you're intimately aware of the fact that there are areas for improvement its hard not to crow about things. but the status quo is getting the job done for me right now.
But I would say that a good OS should be invisible. Not sure when the hell that's going to happen on any platform (well, maybe it's already there on linux, because you can't find half the stuff anyway! Oh, wait, it's in a configuration file! Of course, nothing more invisible then having no UI at all!).
...Asian hardware manufacturers were starting to bypass Western commercial operating systems in order to get more control over their products.
Woohoo! So now it's not Apple who wants to wrest control, but the hardware manufacturers. And how is this better?
The (Linux) kernel is already being used in things like cell phones, but the problems have been in the UI."
Wait, I thought the OS should be invisible. Oh, we're not there yet?
And that's the main problem with OSS. Most of the work done is by programmers for programmers. So the software ends up being butt-ugly crap with 80,000 options, 16 different ways to any task, and usually any lack of following any HIG (hey, not that Apple or MS do that, either).
Oh, and people mock all the different versions of Vista, but do we really need 500 versions of Linux floating around?
Makes me want to steal a word from robtwo.
Isn't it obvious? The POS is case insensitive! Any real computer user knows that an OS's file system should allow both "Readme" and "readme" (let alone "README" because, come on, we all know file names should be in uppercase, like COPYING, and no extension or other information to let you know the type of file).
Under Leopard you can be case sensitive if you so choose.
Anyway, Linus' remarks are, as usual, a big steaming pile of self-serving BS. While I certainly agree with him that much of the OS should be "invisible" (to the user), if he thinks Linux is more "invisible" than Mac OS X I'd like to know the name of his magic mushroom supplier.
Again, he's right in one sense and wrong in another. HFS+ has a lot of room for improvement and that's in part why Apple has started offering limited support for ZFS -- they are clearly experimenting with a replacement.
But to imply that Linux has a superior file system is pretty laughable. Linus is beginning to remind me of Dr. Bronner, if you get my drift and I think you do.
He never stated that the File system sucked or the Mach kernel sucks 'cause it is monolithic bla bla bla..
He said they suck for the control both companies push upon their end users... And, in some parts of the world, he is allowed his opinion.