Random Flux

Just like all the Linux machines I’ve seen, the user interface of Apple OS X on the Mac Pro feels subjectively sluggish and unresponsive compared to just about any Windows machine I have access to, even my old Athlon XP 2800+ — despite the fact that I have 3GB of memory and 2 Xeon processors with 4 cores running at 2.6GHz. Now, I’m no expert in this sphere but my suspicion is that this may be an inherent problem in the connection between the kernel and the graphical windowing system on all *nix systems. Could it be that the Windows Registry is actually a better solution?

Now, I’m not entirely sure, but my thought on this is that it may have something to do with the fact that *nix systems rely so heavily on scripts and config files for just about everything. And since scripts are interpreted this would mean that many operations in the user interface involve loading multiple scripts, interpreting them and then executing them. By comparison, the Windows Registry is a digital database that is always accessible. This doesn’t absolve the Registry of its inherent problems of abuse as a general database by application programmers and poor maintenance facilities that result in more and more cruft collecting, but it’s still an interesting thought.