Comparing OS X, XP and Eazel

The Economist has a story comparing the three recent releases. Eazel’s “idea is that when an update to a particular piece of software becomes
available, Nautilus allows the user to download and install it with a single click.
Security and bug fixes are thus installed quickly, and each upgrade is small and
painless. This is a radically different approach to most software updates, which
aggregate lots of fixes into infrequent, large and painful upgrades.

Windows XP and Mac OS X are, in comparison, the software equivalents of
baroque cathedrals: vast, complicated edifices built by thousands of workers over
many years. But though its approach may be more elegant, Eazel must show that
its business model, as well as its technology, will work. That will not be easy. Many
software firms that are trying to make money from Linux are struggling, and Eazel
recently announced layoffs of its own.”