A list of open source modules such as python and X11 is hardly proof that the foundation of Apple's operating system - i.e. what most of us would consider looks and feels like "Mac OS" - is also open. Because it isn't.

What you have demonstrated is classic misdirection from an Apple owner who presumably has only half an understanding of what goes on inside his machine, or at the very least an assumption that other people's knowledge that Mac OS is "based on UNIX don't you know!!!!" is sufficient ammunition for any argument. Windows has open source components - is that open source? And does anyone care about open/closed anyway when all they want is a platform from which to read their email and buy shit on eBay?

In addition, it's always a laugh reading people champion the Mac being "open source" and "secure" in the same sentence, despite the fact that a combination of woolly open source community projects and a proprietary closed source Apple interface is a pretty lethal combination. You just have to look at the way Charlie Miller has been able to repeatedly bust his way into Mac OS X using holes in both to wonder why the myth pervades almost all Apple discussions.

from h-online.com/security:
In cracking competitions, it is regularly the Apple systems which are cracked first by attackers. [Charlie Miller] has argued for some time that Mac OS X is among the comparatively insecure operating systems. Apple users are currently "safer, but less secure", he said. While malware authors don't concern themselves with the relatively small number of Apple users, Miller said, the size of the market share is no longer a valid argument in targeted attacks such as operation Aurora: "Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town."

Stick that in your overpriced pipe and smoke it.

@ posted by : Hieronymus P. Organthruster, 03 June 2010

Check the link out:

http://www.apple.com/opensource/

From Wikipedia:

Apple has released this family of software as a free and open source operating system named Darwin. On top of Darwin, Apple layered a number of components, including the Aqua interface and the
Finder, to complete the GUI-based operating system which is Mac OS X

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X

As jose gomez said above, this has nothing to do with the performance or "insecurity" of Windows and everything to do with

- Google being in direction competition with Microsoft, and
- The start of campaigning for Chrome

The company is simply doing what it wants YOU all to do: switch from a lifetime of using Windows.

As for Apple being "safer", come off it. Cast your mind back to any Firefox 'sploit from the last few years where vulnerabilities in the browser - not the operating system - have allow attackers to execute arbitrary code.

In a number of cases these security issues were specific to MacOS (e.g. the malformed GIF issue from a couple of years back) and did not affect any other platform, so it's a complete joke to think of Apple as being bulletproof. Poorly written and/or buggy third party apps make any system just as open to attacks as every rival.

And seriously, which of you idiots think MacOS is open source? Care to point us in the direction of the code then? Sheesh.

this is nothing more than classic scare tactic from google now that they've set a release date for their os. Anyone who really thinks this is because of security concerns is a fool.

Also, all os have their ups and downs.
Windows is security (arguably, since a well configured windows installation is as good as a linux one)

Linux is stability and compatibility and mac os... well, it's a toy os. We grown ups who develop enterprise apps would rather not use it.

Really Mac OS x is used by the US military along with linux and windows.

Infact the US military was on a recent visit to Apple HQ to investigate inreasing the amont of Apple kit used by them laptops, severs, Ipads, iphones etc they placed a large order as a result 

Also why is it that at hacker events why do hackers have a large majority of Apple Kit? 

Regarding if Mac OSX, Windows, linux are safe well all these are not 100% secure. If someone coded these there will always be insecurities, programming is only as good as the programmer!!!!!!

Every os is hackable

As for the below comment:

lol what a numpty OSX will not even let you intstall software without a admin password even if you are logged in as an administrator also system setting can be locked down requiring a password and are by default.  

Windows does not even have this feature!!! 

And for the moron above, any OS will let you do anything if you are stupid enough to leave the system logged in as administrator.

Why aren't they using Linux and just connecting to their cloud for apps?

Seriously this just sounds like a crybaby response from Google.

Linux offers the most advanced security protections in the world, with systems like SELinux, AppArmor, per-process namespaces, and other such fun stuff.

It’s always amusing to hear the Windows admins talking about Group Policy Objects as though it’s some kind of security system. It’s not: it’s nothing more than a system for copying Registry entries around.

"And for the moron above, any OS will let you do anything if you are stupid enough to leave the system logged in as administrator."

You can only install things as root on a Mac and you can not log in as root. So if I had left my Mac logged in you would not be able to install anything without knowing my password. (My account is an Admin account as well, still requires password to install).

This is the main reason people say Mac's are more secure, virus's can not just install without the user giving them root access.

Take off your MS Glasses.

Ever heard of a company called Novell? We're running - on most of our servers - an OS called "Netware 6.5". We have 1-2 people on site 8am-4pm weekdays managing approx. 500 staff.

The Netware servers are all the 'load bearing' servers which do all the work. We also have a couple of MS Servers, running 2k and 2k3 - none of which are as stable or which have the reliability of our Netware servers.

Novell, funnily enough, have moved away from their proprietary Netware OS, and are now developing SUSE linux - both desktop and server operating system variants. I have not used these personally as we are in no hurry to upgrade our servers, but I have high expectations that they would be at least as capable as the later versions of the Netware OS.

"The US Military use Mac OS because of security..."

You wish. The US Air Force uses a special version of Windows (which of course isn't available to the public) and other branches use proprietary linux based operating systems. But NOT Mac OS.

Actually the US Military and the British military use Windows, not MAC OS for their command and control platforms.

Just search for 'Windows for Warships' for instance.

In fact they specifically rejected Linux because of the vastly higher number of security vulnerabilities and much higher average time at risk compared to Windows. MAC OS wasnt even consdered for the same reasons.

And for the moron above, any OS will let you do anything if you are stupid enough to leave the system logged in as administrator.

I can tell you how secure Windows is my mate left his computer on logged in as an administrator, i jumped on it installed loads of freeware software all without knowing his password.

Changed some major system setting and replaced his wallpaper with a women getting f**ked by a Horse!!!!!!

Now thats security for you!!!!!!!

Nomac, you surely must be joking when you say "Mac's the most closed source operating system there is". I guess you haven't heard of BSD UNIX or Darwin, both of which are what OSX is made from, and both of which are 100% Open Source. Furthermore, OSX is fully POSIX compliant, making it pretty darn simple to cross-compile software from any other flavor of UNIX over to OSX. What open standards is Microsoft compliant with? Oh right... none. And the source code to Windows is freely available right? Of course it isn't. Maybe do a little homework next time before you post such nonsense!

Evidence is that since they're using OSX and Linux, they simply don't *need* the desktop management as you see it. My guess is they access "cloud" services and need only a browser.

Did you even consider that possibly they've already evaluated extra support costs (as you think) versus proven risks from an M$ OS --not just the browser?

Or are you such an expert that *you* know their business better than *they* do?

"Linux is open source and we feel good about it," said one employee. "Microsoft we don't feel so good about."

So how do you feel about Mac? Mac's the most closed source operating system there is? Do you feel goo about that?

This will be a nightmare in terms of centralized desktop management. There is nothing in the Mac OSX or Linux world that can hold a candle to AD integrated group policy objects when it comes to managing desktop across a large enterprise. They're going to have to hire a lot more staff. But hey, all of you commenting knew that right, because you're all tier 3 enterprise architects?

They dont sell macs but they do sell linux based androids.

So they are in a good position to develope linux in house to meet their needs and potentially provide a better linux for desktop distribution. Though I wasnt exactly schmoozed by Chrome and still dont like they way they reorganised their search pages without my permission.

If they only played games at google, apart from pacman I mean, it could be the beginning of real competition for MS.

Also confirms they lost some when China kicked theor marbles about.

Come on fanbois, which is it?

"Google's employees are also being encouraged to use the company's own Chrome operating system"

So, Google is asking Google employees to use Google's OS, and telling the world about it. It's a bit like Apple telling it's employees to use Safari, and telling the world it's safer than chrome.

The corporate revolution has begun. Kick Windows to the curb and put it out with the rest of the garbage. Too long has corporate America been tied to the insecure and proprietary Microsoft standard. Linux + OSX is the future. Stay tuned, now that Google has had the balls to make this bold investment in the future, many other companies will soon follow. The Microsoft evil empire is collapsing!

Ubuntu 9.10 is very solid and better than Windows, 10.04 Lucid is even better!. In fact, better than OSX for most purposes except for FCP and the like. Maybe Aperture. Open Office is way good enough for most,so what is the problem getting away from MS and saving a bundle of money and lots of headache along the way ?.
Linux was ready for prime-time desktop 2 years ago, so they are reall dragging their feet, if you asked me.

@ pete

It's a false security state... in fact it's easier to get inside Mac Os than Windows these days... it has been proven several times...

Let me share something with you... i have been using windows since 3.0 ...and in the last 10 year or more i have never had a virus on my systems...

Please note, i have nothing against Mac OS... i just prefer Windows...

Peace!

"Google kicks out Microsoft Windows"

Why Fear,
when Google Chrome OS is here!!

Like most, had to get burned before believe M$ really is flawed, not just under attack because most popular.

The link addresses use of Chrome, which is allowed. My guess is it's not quite ready or popular; the employees aren't all bleeding edge geeks, they're just doing mundane tasks. Besides, if the company would spring for a shiny new Mac, HMM! -- And as a practical matter, Macs really are more "secure" than M$.

It is not because Mac OS is safer than Windows. It is just that hackers are more likely concentrating their efforts on creating virus against Windows than Mac as there are more users on Windows than Mac. So when you spend that much effort to create a virus to steal someone's information, it would make more sense to create one that has the biggest bang for the buck.

I would not be surprise to see virus on Mac/Linux once they reach certain percent of the user base.

@ aka_ronin...
"Someone is joking here... since when Mac Os is safer than Windows ????"

with about 3,000 new viruses coming out every week for windows and 0 yes 0 viruses for the mac after 10 years of os x I think anyone can guess.

There are trojan horses for all systems, but no viruses for the mac...

The US Military use Mac OS because of security...

Intel refuses for years to use MS as their internal R&D platform.
Office plankton is next :)

It's only 20,000 or so licenses, but I still think that this is an important change.
A large, financial behemoth of a corporation has finally publicly ditched Windows.
The countdown is now started until the next similar announcement.
And I doubt very much that there will be a VIP visit from Ballmer with loads of gifts in tow this time.

Why they just don't simply use own Chrome browser but compromised IE?

What a joke... Even that MS have provided Browser choise app with the latest updates.

Someone is joking here... since when Mac Os is safer than Windows ????

Has Google gone brain damaged moron ????

Good luck Google...