Comments on: Apple OS X: You say OS Ten, I say OS Eks

Pronouncing OS X

[Kev Orng]

I'd agree with Bobcat but then I wouldn't be able to continue referring to Windows Chi-Rho and Windows "Me"

You know what though, who cares? Bobcat is right, you only make yourself look uninformed. Whatever, choose your battles. Wait till Windows makes it to version Ecks, then we'll see who's making fun of whose pronunciation.

And while we are on the topic, what exactly was Microsoft trying to tell us when they named it Windows Chi-Rho? That Windows is somehow the embodiment of Jesus? Don't tell me the market research people at Microsoft didn't consult a single symbologist, semiotician, archeologist or religious scholar about the history of XP. I'm surprised Vista wasn't called Windows A?

[corndogger911]

I have always pronounced it "OS eks". I also call that december holiday "eks-mas" because I still don't believe in christ...

[bigmc6000]

I actually use both. When I say "OS X" I say "OS Eks" but when talking about Leopard I say "Ten-Five" or "Ten-point-Five" or, ya know, "Leopard" ;)

[Philip Hatfield]

haha, yeah, i've always said it OS "X" not Oh Es "Ten" . thanks for the correct pronunciation of Oh Es "Ex".

[bigmc6000]

Well "I also call that december holiday "eks-mas" because I still don't believe in christ..." If that's true you should just call it Winter Soltice... Otherwise calling it "eks-mas" is almost the exact same situation we have here. They both mean the exact same thing...

[datapolitical]

It's pronouced both ways. Common usage rules say OS X (like the letter) when referring to the operating system generally ("I'm more familiar with OS X than with Windows"), but pronounced numerically when referring to a version ("I'm running version 10.5"). I think the simplest justification for this is that Mac OS X is a name brand (like Windows), while OS 10.5 is a version (like Windows XP SP2).

[BaqTalk]

If they wanted to pronounce it TEN instead of X then they should have called it OS TEN.

Somebody needs to put those cultists in check, and its good that you've taken up the banner Rich. I expect good things from your blog.

BTW: Lets start calling it Windows Ten-P.

[workshopmusic]

Yeah... nerdy hijinks are more fun than accuracy or jernalizm or whatever u call that. dude. Yeah. Something.

[Rohou]

Lol, that is how I say it-- OS Ex Leppard

[tomiwk]

I stick to OS Eks, it just sounds cooler... and i don't really trust Apple people's pronunciation, I remember back in the 80's, when Apple tried to make us all pronounce "SCSI Interface" as "Sexy Interface"... =)

[lituus]

Oh, thanks much Mr. Brown for referring to my email there. I hope you talk about the other questions in my email too. (or at least reply to them)

And great move there, with os-eks.com

Also, the interesting thing about me requesting you to correct your pronunciation is that I used to prounce it as "eks" till two months ago.
I work at my university's computer lab, and I was discussing the pros/cons of the Mac hardware/software with Mac-using colleague. I have a decent knowledge of Macs (although I'm a seasoned Windows user). However, while talking to him, I wanted to get the Mac user's perspective on it, so I feigned a bit more ignorance and led him on a bit (no malevolent intentions there). I was speaking in somewhat flattering terms when I mistakenly dropped the bomb.

I said OS "eks". He went berserk. After about a minute of rambling non-sense & letting of steam, he enlightened me to the amazing "10"-ness of the word.

Now, I'm paranoid about pronouncing it as 10

[JwL3394]

Question: How does Steve Jobs say it? OS "Ecks" or OS 10? I always thought you said "Ecks." Never dawned on me till now that the X could be Roman numeral 10...

[AlmaTadema]

I always thought that the X stood for 'Mac OS Xtreme!!!' In fact, I think it would be awesome if in all future product reviews, Rich referred to the operating system thusly.

[AppleSuxLeo]

I and most people pronounce it " Windows XP" Because it just works for the last 7 years and MSFT gives us like 10+ years of OS support. And when I build a new quad-core system soon...MSFT allows me to use my XP that came with my system almost 7 years ago ! With Mac you throw everything out every year or two and start over ! What a joke. Jobs sure fooled you. Mac might not even be using x86 soon. Throw it ALL out and start over Mac suckers.

[bigmc6000]

I suppose you don't realize that the OS is now written as a universal binary and still runs just as well on the old IBM Power architecture as it does on the x86 architecture. Since it does, Leopard runs on Macs that are over 7 years old. Then again "ignorance is bliss" so go ahead and remain "blissful"

[A_Z]

Lol apple fan-boys are funny... imagine actually caring about such a ridiculous thing! Great comeback with the blog!

[3rdalbum]

I'm fully aware of the number of Macintosh operating systems before it; I used them from 6.0.8 up to 9.1. Mac OS X (Eks) is not based on them; it's based on NeXtStep. So it makes more sense to say the X from NeXt, rather than 10, as the nine that came before it were all completely different.

[mediocrates--2008]

When I pronounce "OS X," it comes out sounding like "Darwin," which somehow sounds a whole lot like "Unix," then eventually it starts sounding like "Linux." Before you know it, it sounds just like "Ubuntu," and I've escaped from a proprietary system and saved myself big bucks in the process.

[scythie]

Apple fans. *rolls eyes*

Come on, don't tell me you didn't expect such fanboyism from them. lol.

[b_baggins]

Good grief. This is so easy to solve. What does Steve Jobs call it?

Answer: He called it OS TEN. Since he's the one that came up with the name, he's the one that gets to decide how to pronounce it.

Controversy over.

[fooldog01]

Hence the reason no one likes a mac user. Roughly the same reasons no one likes a vegan.