Mark Shuttleworth made headlines not too long ago when he called for the Linux desktop to surpass Mac OS X in both beauty and functionality. While a lot of folks thought that was breathtaking and audacious, I think he's aiming too low. I think Linux should aspire to equal or better the AmigaOS.

I'm not much of an Apple fan-- I don't care for the Apple desktop, even though my first ever computer was a Macintosh LC II, and I've had several Macs since then. To me it feels itchy and galling, like a scritchy wool shirt on a warm day. But that's a question of preference, and for all I know Mr. Shuttleworth is on the right track. But I think there is a better model to aspire to, and that is the AmigaOS.

What On Earth Is An Amiga?

AmigaOS was far ahead of its time. Born around 1985, it evolved into a genuine 32-bit multi-threaded, multi-tasking, multi-media operating system. I got to play with an Amiga PC with back around 1998 or so, and it was an amazing experience. It made Windows 95 and the Mac look like obese, inflexible, unstable toys.

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