[duffman108]

Apple mac os x is built off of unix, so does that make mac linux?

[mechmaster]

im not sure if it makes it Linux, there are some ways to make linux look like mac OSX but i dont you can call it linux completely

[duffman108]

I no you can make linux look like mac and almost act like it because i did it once, also made my windows box look like mac os x too.

[mechmaster]

cool, but you made windows look like mac, thats awesome!

[doss]

MacOS X is a combination of many things, but is most related to NEXTSTEP (from the now-deceased NeXT platform)... read http://www.kernelthread.com/mac/osx/arch.html for more information.

[Dapper Dan]

I'm afraid it's not a logical argument:

Mac OS X = BSD
BSD = Unix
Linux = Minix
Minix = Unix
Therefore, Mac OS X = Linux

A more logical argument would be...

Mac OS X = BSD
BSD = Unix
Linux = Minix
Minix = Unix

Therefore, Mac OS X, BSD, Minix and Linux = Unix

[kkubasik]

Mac does not equal linux, it is just based in a *nix derivative, its not opensource with is the real thing that sets linux apart, Unix operates much the same as linux, its just proprietary, and Mac is not Linux, its basoed in the unix dir structure, but its kernel is its own. They are similare enough though, Several Linux/Unix porgrams can be ported to the OSX through minimal work.

[Darl]

Not twins, cousins.

[duffman108]

so mac os x was based off of unix but it's not linux, so there just cousins then.

[copycon]

It has as its base the mach kernel which is far from free (in both senses of the word) here is an excerpt from their license.

"Before you can get a Mach license, you must have a Fourth
Berkeley Software Distribution (4.3BSD) license. That license
in turn requires that you have a Unix source license. Information
about the BSD license can be obtained from <bsd-dist@cs.berkeley.edu>.
These licenses were reaonably priced for educational institutions
but not for individuals or small companies."

More details about mach can be found here.

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/proje.../www/mach.html