Linked by David Adams on Thu 3rd Mar 2011 20:23 UTC, submitted by Amy Bennett
IDC's newest survey of server vendors shows boxes running every kind of operating system -- except Unix -- sold more during the last three months of 2010. Sales of Linux servers rose 29 percent; Windows rose 16.8 percent, but most surprisingly, sales of mainframes shot up 69 percent â€" the highest growth rate IDC ever found on mainframes.
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RE[4]: Unix Servers not Unix Based
by lemur2 on Fri 4th Mar 2011 05:59
in reply to "RE[3]: Unix Servers not Unix Based"
Member since:2007-02-17
Linux isn't Unix, it is rather a written-from-scratch independent implementation of the POSIX specification which has not been certified as POSIX compliant because it is expensive to do so. Therefore Linux is just Linux. Consequently, unlike OSX (which was based on BSD code) and arguably perhaps iOS as well, Android cannot be counted as any kind of "Unix". Even if OSX and iOS machines were to be lumped in with the Unix figures, Android should be lumped in with the Linux figures.
Support for this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unix_history.svg
Mac OSX comes from NextStep code which in turn comes from BSD code which in turn comes from Unix code.
GNU and GNU/Linux code spring up out of nowhere (no predecessor code for either of them). They were both written from scratch. GNU source code was originally written from scratch using editors on Unix systems, whereas Linux source code was written from scratch using the editor on a Minix system. Both are now supported on Linux systems.
Android derives from the Linux kernel code.
More information here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
Information about POSIX:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posix
Note that even though Linux largely is POSIX compliant, Linux is not certified as POSIX compliant.
Edited 2011-03-04 06:01 UTC
RE[5]: Unix Servers not Unix Based
by Stratoukos on Sat 5th Mar 2011 20:35
in reply to "RE[4]: Unix Servers not Unix Based"
Member since:2009-02-11
Mac OSX comes from NextStep code which in turn comes from BSD code which in turn comes from Unix code.
GNU and GNU/Linux code spring up out of nowhere (no predecessor code for either of them). They were both written from scratch. GNU source code was originally written from scratch using editors on Unix systems, whereas Linux source code was written from scratch using the editor on a Minix system. Both are now supported on Linux systems.
GNU and GNU/Linux code spring up out of nowhere (no predecessor code for either of them). They were both written from scratch. GNU source code was originally written from scratch using editors on Unix systems, whereas Linux source code was written from scratch using the editor on a Minix system. Both are now supported on Linux systems.
Actually, OS X and the current BSDs do not contain any UNIX code.
All of them can be traced to the short-lived 386BSD. FreeBSD and NetBSD were directly based to 386BSD, OpenBSD is a NetBSD fork, DragonflyBSD is a FreeBSD fork and PC-BSD is to FreeBSD what Ubuntu is to Debian (sans the stupid flame wars). XNU's (OS X's kernel) BSD parts are also based on FreeBSD.
386BSD was a x86 port of the Net/2 release which was essentially a rewrite of all 4.3BSD code that was under AT&T's copyright. So, while Net/2 and 4.3BSD were pretty much the same thing, there was no UNIX code in the former.
RE[4]: Unix Servers not Unix Based
by cobbaut on Fri 4th Mar 2011 11:00
in reply to "RE[3]: Unix Servers not Unix Based"
Member since:2005-10-23
RE[5]: Unix Servers not Unix Based
by lemur2 on Fri 4th Mar 2011 12:08
in reply to "RE[4]: Unix Servers not Unix Based"
Member since:2007-02-17
"Linux isn't Unix, it is rather a written-from-scratch independent implementation...
Yes Linux was written from scratch, so is Solaris or AIX or HP-UX or even *BSD. All of them are Unix! "
No, Solaris or AIX or HP-UX and even *BSD were not written from scratch. They all inherited an existing codebase that came before them, they are all "forks" of an earlier version of Unix. They are all Unix.
Only Linux, and the original Unix itself, were written from scratch.
Linux is not Unix. There is not one line of Unix source code in Linux. Linux was written from scratch, by Linus Torvalds.
Like so:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Unix_history.svg
In this figure, solid lines entering from the left represent existing source code.
Do you understand now?
PS: BTW, the GNU/Linux OS uses GNU (and GNU was written from scratch, by Richard Stallman), but the Linux kernel itself does not use GNU, so the Linux kernel was also written from scratch. Android uses the Linux kernel, but it does not use GNU AFAIK.
GNU is also not Unix. In fact, the very abbreviation, GNU, satnds for GNU is Not Unix.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU
"GNU is a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix!", chosen because GNU's design is Unix-like, but differs from Unix by being free software and containing no Unix code."
Edited 2011-03-04 12:27 UTC
RE[5]: Unix Servers not Unix Based
by Laurence on Fri 4th Mar 2011 13:37
in reply to "RE[4]: Unix Servers not Unix Based"
Member since:2007-03-26
Yes Linux was written from scratch, so is Solaris or AIX or HP-UX or even *BSD. All of them are Unix!
Linux is not Unix. Period.
It's not based on Unix code, it's not Unix certified. It's not Unix.
AIX, HP-UX and BSD all share a common heritage which Linux does not.
In fact, Linux wasn't even intended to be a Unix clone. Originally it was a Minix clone (which also is not Unix).
So anyone who tells you that Linux is any way related to Unix (beyond architecture similarities) is simply WRONG.
RE[5]: Unix Servers not Unix Based
by phoenix on Fri 4th Mar 2011 16:54
in reply to "RE[4]: Unix Servers not Unix Based"
Member since:2005-07-11
Linux is a clean-room clone of Minix. There was never any UNIX code in Linux. It's is the bastard step-child of UNIX' distant cousin Minix. No actual blood relation; no actual code history.
BSD is a continuation of AT&T UNIX source code, with a bunch of extra features added in. By the year 1992, there was no original AT&T UNIX code in BSD anymore, but the history is still there, and you can trace back through the CVS commit logs back to the original UNIX sources.
While none of the free implementations of BSD have paid the exorbitant fees to go through the certification process and thus none can call themselves UNIX(tm), they are most definitely Unix-based systems.
MacOS X is a crazy hibrid of NeXT, FreeBSD, NetBSD, and Mach, giving it direct links into the UNIX source code lineage. And, Apple has paid for specific versions to go through the certification process. Thus, it is also UNIX(tm).
But there is no way, no how, none possible, for Linux to be considered UNIX(tm), or even Unix-based, or even Unix-compatible.
RE[5]: Unix Servers not Unix Based
by dayalsoap on Sat 5th Mar 2011 18:25
in reply to "RE[4]: Unix Servers not Unix Based"
Member since:2010-05-19
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.More Features »
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Member since:
2007-02-17
Linux isn't Unix, it is rather a written-from-scratch independent implementation of the POSIX specification which has not been certified as POSIX compliant because it is expensive to do so.
Therefore Linux is just Linux. Consequently, unlike OSX (which was based on BSD code) and arguably perhaps iOS as well, Android cannot be counted as any kind of "Unix".
Even if OSX and iOS machines were to be lumped in with the Unix figures, Android should be lumped in with the Linux figures.
Edited 2011-03-04 03:24 UTC