Bob it looks like the folks at Amazon agree with you. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/zd/20011030/tc/amazon_linux_saved_us_millions_1 .html I wonder if the downturn in the economy will end up being really hard on the likes of Microsoft. When times are good spending $1000 per seat for software isn't such a big deal, when times get tough the story changes. This would be a major consideration for anyone either starting a new company or thinking about upgrades to, cough, choke, XP. I would think that the TOC of Linux would be lower just because once you get it setup you don't have to patch it twice a week for new found security holes. In this reguard I think linux on the desktop really shines in that most patches or security updates seem to apply to the server software and not desktop stuff. With MS it seems that you end up spending equal time patching both servers and desktops. I can't speak to the UNIX issues, I have no experience with it. So in short (too late) I guess I agree with you. But then again I have only been using linux for a few months so what the heck do I know. -----Original Message----- From: Bob Tanner [mailto:tanner at real-time.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2001 10:21 PM To: tclug-list at mn-linux.org Subject: [TCLUG] Linux and Win2K TOC the same? http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011030/tc/tech_intel_napster_dc_2.html "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. -- Bob Tanner <tanner at real-time.com> | Phone : (952)943-8700 http://www.mn-linux.org, Minnesota, Linux | Fax : (952)943-8500 Key fingerprint = 6C E9 51 4F D5 3E 4C 66 62 A9 10 E5 35 85 39 D9 _______________________________________________ Twin Cities Linux Users Group Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota http://www.mn-linux.org tclug-list at mn-linux.org https://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list