On Thursday 07 February 2002 06:34 pm, Joel T Schneider wrote: > On Thu, 7 Feb 2002 Bob Tanner wrote: > > http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011030/tc/tech_intel_napster_dc_2.html > > I'm unable to access the above link -- "Document Not Found". > > > "In any case, using Linux is not much cheaper than Windows 2000. Although > > Linux as an operating system is free, the real costs are related to the > > computers, and support and maintenance, he said." > > > > I might be blinded by by religion and this group my not have the ability > > to let the religion go, but can anyone look outside the box on this and > > comment? > > > > My perspective is Linux is much cheaper then Windows. Even if you pay for > > a distro you are starting out ahead. Add the virus resistence, stability, > > reliability, and security out of the box. Linux should be have a better > > TOC then Win2k. > > I think there are many situations where Windows is cheaper, at least in > the short run. > On the desktop, for many businesses, sure. TCO consists of a lot of things, among them training, and doing without. OS license fees really are a relatively small part of it. > For many businesses with an established Windows infrastructure, it would > be difficult to justify the potential costs and risks associated with > the rollout of a replacement system (training costs, potential bugs, etc). > Again, yup -- the time to make the move to Linux for the desktop is during startup. Once the way the business works depends on a Windows program -- any Windows program -- you're pretty much stuck. Servers are another matter -- as long as you're using standard protocols, the workstation doesn't care (or need to know) what the server's running. (Which, of course, is why Microsoft is so fond of proprietary protocols and formats -- see Exchange Server.) > In addition, most businesses using Windows have a heavy dependence on > application software that runs only that platform (Microsoft Office, > anyone?). If Sun does what I hope they're going to do with Star Office, I think that particular problem will go away -- 6.0 is definitely usable (I write books with it) -- but there's some real problems in smooth translation between .doc and .sxw, so far. Usable for plain vanilla stuff like I do, but definite glitches persist for more sophisticated documents. > Such businesses are likely to have also developed custom, > in-house applications that require Windows. This makes it very difficult > to completely eliminate their reliance on Windows -- even if linux offers > an exceptional value proposition, there will be one or more "must have" > applications that force them back to using Windows. Sure. If a sales force is used to Goldmine -- which sucks rocks, but is popular -- there's going to be some huge training issues in moving to a Linux counterpart (is there one? I honestly dunno). > > As I see it, the web levels the playing field to some degree, as does > samba and even Java, making it possible to cost-justify the use of > non-windows systems (anything but Microsoft? [0]) on server machines in > the corporate data center. Server machines, to simplify, provide protocols rather than programs, and as long as Microsoft can't "decommoditize" protocols and get people to rely on them, the stability and performance of various *nix OSes will give an advantage. Note the popularity of Apache, just to pick the obvious example. Indeed, linux has helped revitalize IBM's > mainframe sales [1]. In addition, linux has proven highly effective in > clustering systems [2] [3] [4] and is also useful for embedded devices > such as TiVO [5] and network attached storage [6]. Linux has definitely > become a player in the enterprise IT scene [7]. > > Maybe some day Wine [8] [9] will realize its promise and help liberate the > desktop (where Windows is already entrenched [10]) from its seemingly > perpetual enthrallment to Microsoft. I'm not holding my breath, though. Good idea -- the not holding your breath. It's been in development a long time, and still isn't nearly ready for prime time. -- ------------------------------------- There's a widow in sleepy Chester Who weeps for her only son; There's a grave on the Pabeng River, A grave that the Burmans shun, And there's Subadar Prag Tewarri Who tells how the work was done. -------------------------------------