[bgilroy26]

It's a pretty solid argument if the premises are correct:

The article benchmarks the performance of Ubuntu and OSX, and finds them to be in a dead heat.

Ubuntu was developed at a lower investment on Canonical's part (OR with a larger team of less skilled developers, I can't tell which is more important to frownie).

Therefore Ubuntu represents a greater achievement relative to the resources invested than OSX does.

[calinet6]

> relative to the resources invested

While Canonical has invested limited resources in Ubuntu, the overall amount of resources used to create the Linux kernel, the Debian toolchain, and the Ubuntu OS are far greater.

One could say they match or exceed the "resources invested" in OSX, which also uses a range of Open Source software and history (to name just one extremely important part: BSD Unix).

The two are actually broadly comparable in the work and effort put in, and apparently the results as well.

You could argue that Ubuntu has the greater achievement because they spent less money on it, but given the actual value put in, it seems like a moot point.

[orlandu63]

Let's not forget that GNU/Linux is intended to run on any damn machine you throw at it, while the latest version of OSX is only intended to run on Apple hardware that is no more than 3 years old. It's amazing that Ubuntu is even competitive with OSX given these circumstances.

[rytis]

Well... Right from the article:

    Unfortunately, switchable/hybrid graphics remain 
    a pain in the ass under Linux. With Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, 
    the 2010 MacBook Pro had problems with either 
    open-source driver.

[rauljara]

> Therefore Ubuntu represents a greater achievement relative to the resources invested than OSX does.

Certainly. However, I think most people looking at benchmarks like these are deciding which operating system to actually use. An entire OS created by a single teenager would be a stunning achievement, even if it ran terribly. That doesn't mean you'd choose it as your primary OS.

As it stands, the Ubuntu team can stand proud that they stood toe to toe with the Apple behemoth. But these benchmarks really don't give anyone (on either side) a compelling reason to switch.