Sometimes, GNU Linux is compared with other operating systems like Windows 10 or Mac OS X with the aim to explain what the pros and cons are. The assumption is, that Mac OS X is an operating system which can be compared with Linux. Suppose, Linux is the only operating system which is available what exactly are Windows 10, Mac OS X and the OpenVMS system? To describe it we have to go back into computerhistory.
Let us take a look into pseudo operating systems from the past. The Amiga 500 had a preinstalled kickstart firmware which was able to display a GUI on the screen. The Atari ST was equipped with the GEM operating system, the IBM had a preinstalled MS-DOS, Apple computer were delivered with Mac OS, and IBM mainframes are using the AIX operating system. All these pseudo operating systems are working with the same principle in mind. The first fact is, that the sourcecode has no GPL license, and secondly, it's technically not possible to install the software on different hardware platform.
Let us take some examples. MS-DOS was an operating system in the 1980s. But it was not able to use MS-DOS on the Amiga 500 or on the IBM mainframe. That means, it was not a universal operating system which was able to manage any kind of hardware but it was designed for the IBM PCs needs. The same is true for the modern Mac OS X system which can't be installed on a Rasperry PI 3 computer nor an IBM mainframe computer. That is the reason why this software is not a real operating system. Sure, it is a layer between application programs and underlying hardware, but it is not universal for many different hardware plattforms but was designed as a firmware for a certain computer.
The same is true for the operating system built into the Nintendo Wii gaming console or which runs on most routers. In all these cases, the hardware manufactorer has developed a software for it's own device which is not open source and which can't be installed on a different device. The router firmware from device1 won't run on device2. The current situation in the computer industry is, that hundred and more different firmware systems are available. None of these can be called an operating system. The only true operating system which fulfills as the minimum requirement that it's open source and runs on many plattforms is Linux.
That means, it makes no sense to compare Linux with Windows 10, or compare Linux with Amiga 500 kickstart system. Because Linux is an operating system and the other type of software is a propriatary firmware of the hardware manufcatorer.
Somebody may argue, that there is no need for an operating because. For example, the Mac OS X firmware is well suited to handle the underlying hardware and the same is true for a router firmware. This argumentation results into today's landscape which consists of incompatible firmwares, missing standards and some kind of rant against the only operating system available which is Linux.
Let us think about possible alternatives to Linux. Which kind of software is available which runs everywhere? Right, exactly this is the bottleneck. There is no Linux alternative available. What is used on most computers and hardware devices are firmware systems which are maintained by a single hardware manufactorer and which are equal to the betamax system used in the 1980s on videorecorders before the VHS standard was invented. From the point of view of an Apple User, Mac OS X is great. It will boot the system and runs any application. But what will happen, if the user has advanced needs? Is Mac OS X able to run Linux applications, can the user plugin an external harddrive not certified by Apple? No he can't. Mac OS X, Amiga 500 kickstart and all the other Betamax like systems are developed for the need of the hardware manufactorers not with the customer in mind.
Somebody may argue, that Windows 10 is equal to an operating system standard because 95% of all the PCs are running with this firmware. But let us take a look into the limits of WIndows 10. Is the system able to boot server hardware, will it run on older PCs, can it be installed on a microcontroller, will Windows 10 run on a playstation? No it won't. Windows 10 was developed for the need of the PC industry. It will run on the x86 plattform and only on this hardware. Additionally, the specification is not available as open source and doesn't fulfill professional needs.
Windows 10 and Mac OS X are great example for well designed firmwares. They are optimized for a special purpose in mind and helped to sell a lot of computer hardware to the masses. But they are not different from firmware software from the past, for example SunOS or Palm OS. Which means on the longterm they can be ignored. If the IBM compatible PC is gone and if Apple is bankrupt, nobody will use this software anymore. Let us take a look what happens with the kickstart ROM from the Amiga 500. AFter Commodore was bankrupt, the project stopped. No updates were programmed anymore because outside of the Commodore world nobody was interested in an Amiga 500 firmware.
Requirements for a standard operating system
Instead of analyzing existing pseudo operating systems the better idea is to define first what purpose a standard operating system has to fulfill. The minimum requirement is, that it will run on all the hardware which is available: desktop PC, notebook, gaming console, tablet PC, smartphone, router, microcontroller, single server, cluster server. To make the Operating system a standard the sourcecode has to be available as open source, so that anybody can contribute to the development.
The GNU Linux project is the only available operating system which fulfills in parts the requirements. And if certain problems are available for example the Linux Android system is not fast enough on smartphone devices, than these detail problems can be solved within the existing ecosystem. The funny thing is, that Linux has no real competitor who is also trying to become a standard operating system which runs on all hardware. That means, the self-understanding of Windows, Mac OS X, HP-UX and proprietary router firmware is not to compete with Linux for the best operating system. Instead, these firmware software was designed for different needs. If Microsoft windows was planned as an alternative to Linux, than the software would be developed into a different direction. But Microsoft has decided, that Windows 10 is not a standard operating system, but a proprietary hardware depended firmware which is running on x86 hardware only.
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