[PLUG] RE: Steve Duin's column of 5/21/02

[Rick Hamell]

> > vipw to work. Some of the device nodes are non-existant in single-user
> > mode, so you can't mount a CDRom. Just little things. Now... I just need
> > to figure out how to afford a Mac. :)
> 
> Although MacOS uses the FreeBSD userland it's still quite a different
> beast under the hood than *BSD.  I haven't poked at it too much but I
> don't think it uses anything like a simple /etc/passwd file for user
> information.

	The file exists, even root couldn't edit it though. All I can
think is that the system users are get there in a non-changeable file,
while all the actual users are kept in a seperate file/database. 
	From a user land stand point you have all the basic utils you
need, CD, MV, etc, etc. But the locate database wouldn't update for
me. I've also seen other's run Xfree instead of Aqua.
	What I'd really like to see is the port collection. I'd love to be
able to install those programs, in addition to the Mac software. On the
other hand, the iTools.com website has graphic front ends for a lot of
stuff you might need. BUT, corporate users are going to have to be
careful, some of those programs could be security risks, if the users
aren't locked down.

	Rick