I think your complaints are misguided. In terms of desktop usability and feature integration Mac OS X beats any Linux installation I've ever used. This is what most people care about, not how many file descriptors there can be at once. In terms of backup, Time Machine together with a Time Capsule is the only backup system my dad has ever consistently used so far. It does not matter if there are superior solutions for more advanced users, as long as there is no dead simple solution. To my knowledge there is no linux distribution that offers something as simple out of the box.
OS X sort of lacks in default command line tools, but that can be fixed rather easily. I also feel that as Windows 8 compared to OS X loses easily both for Design and Usability, Windows 7 came closer. There are obvious limitations to the approach of all desktop operating systems and for that matter the whole "desktop" and "application" metaphor, compared to systems like the Lisp Machine. Ideally a power user would have access to a fully programmable system, without prepackaged applications and type directed interactions.
OS X sort of lacks in default command line tools, but that can be fixed rather easily. I also feel that as Windows 8 compared to OS X loses easily both for Design and Usability, Windows 7 came closer. There are obvious limitations to the approach of all desktop operating systems and for that matter the whole "desktop" and "application" metaphor, compared to systems like the Lisp Machine. Ideally a power user would have access to a fully programmable system, without prepackaged applications and type directed interactions.