Linux and Mac OS X/Intel comments abound

As time goes on, it's interesting to see how the arguments about the effects of the Apple/Intel announcement are beginning to mature from the initial knee-jerk reactions we saw in the early weeks.

The first piece is from James R Stoup at AppleMatters. Make sure you read his original post (linked up the top of the article).

The main thrust of his argument is that the problem with Linux is it's choice. I've mentioned this before elsewhere, but I agree with this entirely. Many credit the success and flexibility of Linux, with it's myriad of choices, is one of it's greatest strengths. But, as James argues, it's also a limitation; the lack of a standard means that Linux is difficult to suggest and recommend and often at a disadvantage compared to the standardized environment of both Windows and Mac OS X.

The second piece is by Robin 'roblimo' Miller over at Newsforge. Again, some key points are made here, and on the whole, I agree with him.

In particular, his penultimate paragraph - where Linux doesn't have to have a majority share of the desktop to be successful - is absolute right. What Linux offers is a choice, and it doesn't have to be ahead, or even level pegging, to achieve that.

Roblimo also makes an observation - that move to Intel may help convince more commercial organizations to develop for Linux as their common Unix-like underpinnings and potentially cheaper hardware will make it easier.

With Apple moving to Intel, whether it's made available freely on non-Apple hardware or not, the gamut of Windows, Linux and OS X will reflect a choice and we should all embrace that, regardless of what operating systems we prefer.