Quote:
Originally posted by hulk
Exactly. The MacOS is the only thing keeping people buying the slower Macintosh hardware. If Apple give that away, while they'd probably rake in the millions, nobody in their right mind would buy one of their computers. And how quick do you think hackers would break it once it goes mainstream? Myself and many others like our security.
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The lack of viruses and exploits for OS's like Linux and Mac OS X has nothing to do with "not being mainstream" and everything to do with the simple fact that the very nature of them doesn't allow for situations like what you have in Windows to exist. On Unix-based system - when used properly - it's impossible for a normal logged in user to alter system files. On a windows system, anyone - even without administrator priviledges - can go in and delete random files from the "Windows" folder. Tell me how that makes sense.
Don't misunderstand me as saying OS X and Linux and other Unix-based systems are perfect. They aren't. They have their exploits. They're simply not nearly as far reaching and, frankly, simply CAN'T be. Ever wonder why you hear all these internet viruses wreaking havoc on IIS web servers yet the majority of web servers (over 2/3) run the open-source Apache? It's not what's "mainstream" that gets targeted - it's what's most vulnerable.
As for OS X on x86, I used to be a big proponent of that. Until I realized one thing. Why does OS X run so well? Apple has a very unique advantage in that they know EXACTLY the hardware they're writing their OS for, so it can be optimized up the wazoo. In other words, OS X on x86 would blow. It's too bad too, cause it could be pretty cool.