Hi John,

The Apple I/mac is not like unix, it is unix. Given that, I already have alot of respect for it, because I know unix and its many capabilities.

The old traditional way of networking with a unix/linux server was through the use of terminals like the wyse 60 or televideo 950, etc. As windows began to take hold, the X windows system was born. This allowed MS Window client computers to telnet to the unix/linux server and login. The interface could be character based, or it could be X based. The windows client could switch between the X session with the mainframe or a local word/execl program running within their own computer usually by hitting a function key. At one time, according to an article I read, X windows had some distinct advantages over Microsoft window when it came to running a graphics session between a client and a server. Time passes and this may no longer be true.

If I were using a unix/linux mainframe in the scenario described above, I would give some thought to switching the window clients out for linux desktops. After all, the linux desktop is now almost equivalent in functionality to the windows OS, and given the windows new licensing and rapid need for upgrades to both software/hardware, alternatives like Linux and Apple become more appealing all the time.

Unlike unix and linux that were designed from the very beginning to be multiuser and multitasking, MS windows started out as a one to a customer desktop app in the form of MS DOS. It has been morphing ever since in an effort to become a first class network OS.

To network a Unix/Linux client to a Unix/Linux Server, the NFS would be used. You can do a search on google for [NFS HOWTO] for detailed information on this. Esstially, the server uses certain files to grant read or read/write access to the server file system. When privileges have been setup on the server, the client computer can then mount a server's file shared on their local computer. It's very easy to setup, but the last time I checked, it required a manual hack of certain file with a text editor to setup. I wonder if Apple has automated this process. Linux can work with a huge number of file system. Sometimes the kernel must be re-compiled to build the support for the desire file system like fat32, NTFS, etc.

The biggest difference between the Apple Computer and a computer using Linux is the Open Source Nature of Linux, while Apple is proprietary. This would tend to make the cost of running Linux less over the long run, say next 5 to 10 years. Open Source seem to result in more support from the software industry. For example, both IBM and Oracle have made billion dollar commitments to Linux. Products like MySQL and Postgres are free, and thier development team always insure these products run correctly in Linux before any other platforms.