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Comment by jamesjporter | Hacker News Reader

I would be willing to shell out top dollar for a UNIX OS that's as stable as OSX and "just works" the way OSX does but is also as customizable and hacker-friendly as Linux, even if it's closed source. I've been wondering if there's any room for a company in this space—its obviously a very niche market, so you'd have to charge a lot, but I (and maybe other nerds?) would certainly be willing to pay.

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I do not think you can have a "hacker friendly" OS that is closed source.

I suspect that if a hacker friendly OS that "just works" does come out, it will be from a computer company trying to offer a non Windows option (either for price and/or because people start not liking Windows). Given the volume of computers such large companies make, the unit cost associated with a polished OS will be very low. Although this OS would be designed for the average user, the company would likely choice to use open source programs for cost.

Dell might be edging in to that space with Project Sputnik. It's too bad that the specs on their machine are underwhelming for their target market. If it fails because of that, Dell will be hesitant to enter the market again--but for precisely the wrong reasons.

I'd pay $2k+ for a 14 inch laptop, 1600x1200 IPS screen, SSD, i7, dedicated graphics, and a good keyboard (with home, end, pgup, pgdown) that could run Linux. Hell, I'd be happy with the dedicated graphics just working in Windows, and I'd dual-boot to game. But no such machine exists right now.

http://www.slackware.com/

Slackware is simple, easy to use, and "it just works". It's free software so of course it's hackable. It's not as GUI-y as an OSX fan might like, but otherwise, it fits your requirements.

It even has the "top dollar" price tag ($30-$50 depending on if you want the 6 CD set or a single DVD, and whether you sign up for the subscription or not), although you can download it for free if you want.

There is definitely room for such a company, and the market is not as niche as you'd imagine. If you could provide an environment as user friendly as OS X with top-notch security and all of the customization features of Linux, most software development companies would pursue this option for their teams. I know I'd use it every day, and I'd happily pay for a non-commercial license in the $50 range.

It's niche enough to not justify the hundreds of millions of dollars such a project would require and the high risks.

OSX "just works" because it has a full suite of software that comes loaded on it and "just works" very well and makes a lot of Windows programs jealous (except for some Office products). If people want customization and general freedom, they already have Linux for free.

I think it is safe to say that the market for people unhappy enough with both OSX and Linux, and willing to pay for that, enough to justify years and years of expensive and risky development, is _relatively_ small.

I don't think it would require hundreds of millions if it combined pieces from existing Linux distros. This could definitely get some venture funding.

Haiku is the closest existing OS to that I can think of (one "true" distribution that "just works", but nothing stopping you from making your own).

It's not Linux though.

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