"I dunno, my old Powermac runs linux just fine. And MacOS X is BSD based *nix with a lot of improvements."
Yes, but how many Mac user know emacs, awk or sed? Hell, I have one friend who didn't even know where to find the terminal program on his Mac. I'll take Linux over Macs and PCs anyday - at least for the work that I do.
..having some arcane knowledge of decades old *nix commands and infinite switches to those doesn't make you a linux user any more than applying knowledge of DOS commands to now WIN..MASM anyone? -it use to be included in every DOS..
I defy you to fully comprehend the intricacies of RLS's own emacs...you can't. Its a full OS by itself..and hardly necessary for working or even learning linux...unless you really want to.
They are built-in and ready to go. Just fire up the Terminal app and have at it.
I installed Ethereal for X11 on my Mac yesterday. It works fine.
But I prefer to use the Aqua user interface for most work.
All of the Linux GUIs are throwbacks to the Stone Age. The Windows GUI looks like Bill Gates puked on the screen.
Most computer users would have a better experience with Macs instead of Windows or Linux PCs.