Measuring Interactive performance

[Norberto Meijome]

Hi everyone,
This question started as something I'm working on @ day job (which is a
Linux / OSX shop)...but as I was thinking about it, it started to move into
FBSD somewhat more...

I heard several times either
 - 'FreeBSD is more responsive at high loads',or
 - 'ULE scheduler provides better interactivity under heavy loads'

and I took them to mean that, under x load, FreeBSD/ULE would seem more
'reactive' to user's commands than OtherSytem/4BSD under load x.  Is that a
correct assumption?

Assuming the answer to the above is "correct", to the second part of the
email - I am interested in measuring 'interactive performance' in a more
scientific fashion than having Bob sitting in front of a series of setups
and tell me how they "feel". Are there any OSS tools (or commercial, other
than mercury) that would allow me to automate desktop interactions (launch
app, open file, perform operation, timestamp, repeat, rinse) ? Even if
there's a tool that would allow for *part* of  that... ?

Desktop environment = KDE, Gnome, OSX

TIA!!!!
B
_________________________
{Beto|Norberto|Numard} Meijome

"The only people that never change are the stupid and the dead"
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