Apple releases Intel Mac OS X kernel

A lot of speculation has been slowly building this year as to why Apple didn't have the Intel Mac OS X kernel source openly available like it is for the PowerPC version. For those who aren't quite up to speed on all this: Darwin, the kernel software at the center of Mac OS X, is open source. There are a number of reasons this is helpful to individuals and organizations who want or need to customize Mac OS X for one reason or another, but for the most part, this doesn't really concern the typical Mac user like you and me.

However, to those who do customize and specialize the Mac OS X kernel for their specific uses the fact that the Intel version of Mac OS X's kernel hasn't been made available has been a source of discussion within their respective communities. Fortunately, as of yesterday, these kernel-lovin' folk have something more to talk about, as their wishes have finally been answered: a post in one of Apple's developer mailing lists yesterday announced that Apple has indeed finally released the kernel based on the latest version 10.4.7. Not much of an explanation for the holdup is offered, but an apology for the wait is. Either way, this is good news for those concerned about Apple's stance on open source software.

[via digg]