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0 pointseitland1y ago0 comments

I run Mac OS.

I am aware that it builds on BSD.

Yet BSD is very alive and nobody who wants BSD is lost to Mac.

At least I personally have never heard anyone deliberating over a free BSD vs Mac.

Edit: and of course upvote. Apple ran with it. But they didn't run away with it. We still have it. Actually we have some patches thanks to them. As I mentioned in my other reply: Open source is not a zero sum game.

0 comments

talldayo1y ago

> Actually we have some patches thanks to them.

In a relative sense, I would argue that Apple has pilfered an order of magnitude higher value from the community than they have given back. The only example of Apple's net-positive contributions seem to be CUPS and LLVM, both of which were cross-platform before Apple took control. Compared with how much networking and userland code they've taken it feels like a trillion-dollar pittance. Even Microsoft chips in more.

eitlandOP1y ago

> In a relative sense, I would argue that Apple has pilfered an order of magnitude higher value from the community than they have given back.

I take objection to the use of "pilfering" to describe usage of software according to the terms specified by its authors.

Or would you somehow argue that some features disappeared from BSD thanks to Apple copying their code as they were expressly allowed to in the license?

Furthermore, even if it wasn't free software but rather MS Windows or a "pirated" movie many people here would argue it wasn't theft but just unauthorized use.

shiroiushi1y ago

>Even Microsoft chips in more.

They do? With what? (Besides Linux kernel drivers that are only useful for running Linux on their own VM solution.) I guess VScode, for people that use it?

CUPS is fantastic, though you're right, it was cross-platform before Apple took control.

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