Posted on 04/07/2005 1:09:46 PM PDT by ShadowAce
The Yankee Group has hit back at critics in the Linux community who have claimed that its surveys comparing Linux and Microsoft Windows are not impartial.
Its latest survey, published on Monday, reported that Microsoft Windows Server 2003 is at least as good if not better than Linux, in terms of quality, performance and reliability.
Laura DiDio, an analyst at the Yankee Group who has been at the receiving end of much of the criticism from Linux advocates, claimed the radical elements of the community could damage the reputation of open source software.
"There's an extremist fringe of Linux loonies who hang out on forums and are disrespectful and threatening because you disagree with them," DiDio told ZDNet UK on Wednesday. "That can hurt the Linux community."
DiDio feels she has been unfairly criticised on open source forums, including being nicknamed DiDiot, and has even had Linux advocates contacting her at home. "I've had these nut jobs calling me at 11 o'clock at night," said DiDio.
The reactionary nature of much of the open source community is something that DiDio claims is unique in the software industry.
"I've lived through the Unix wars — none of them reacted in this way," said DiDio. "It's just software. This has got way out of proportion."
Some of DiDio's critics have claimed that Yankee Group's surveys comparing the total cost of ownership of Linux and Windows have been funded by Microsoft. DiDio strongly denies this claim.
"I don't take any money from any vendor," said DiDio. "Yankee Group paid entirely for the survey. We use an independent survey house."
Yankee Group surveyed executives at over 500 companies, asking them questions on factors that influence TCO such as deployment costs, the cost of downtime, and the time and staff associated with security attacks.
As the study was carried out independently, DiDio said she had no influence on the results. "I think its hilarious that I'm [accused of] colluding with 500 or a 1,000 people," said DiDio.
The fanatical side of the Linux community has been highlighted by others in the past. Security analyst Mi2g, which released research last year claiming that Linux was hacked more frequently than Windows, experienced a 'hostile' response from some in the community, according to the company Web site.
"Any empirical evidence pointing to a high level of online Linux breaches is immediately shot down by religious zealots as if a church had been desecrated," Mi2g stated on its Web site. "The management of Mi2g has been threatened with damage to reputation and online property unless more is preached in favour of Linux."
Several senior executives at commercial open source vendors have also admitted privately that they are concerned that the radical side of the open source community could damage the reputation of open source software.
Although there are some negative aspects to the open source community, some point out that there are many positive aspects including the team work, the lack of hierarchy and the supportive element of the community.
Jon 'Maddog' Hall, the president of Linux International and a leading open source advocate, said at the LinuxWorld conference in London last year that one of the great aspects of the open source community is its willingness to help others.
"A friend of mine is a systems administrator at a large company and uses a lot of open source software to help him in his systems administration tasks," said Hall. "He said that if he asks a question [on a forum or mailing list] he gets lots of responses by the next morning. He told me: 'I give so little and I get so much.'"
This is the same argument that socialized health care advocates use against drug companies - "it only costs the drug companies 15 cents to manufacture each cancer treatment pill yet they charge $100 a bottle!!!" Of course this argument ignores the cost of R&D and the huge financial risks involved.
The cost of the cdrom has nothing to do with the price charged for software - its just a distribution medium.
I'm typing this message on Firefox so I'm not against free software. I just have a problem with individuals decrying a company for trying to make a profit.
I think you mean Mandriva.
I use Mandrake 10.1 and feel it's the best Linux version out there. I converted from Windows about 3 months ago.
why does this not surprise me?
Exactly. The some of the "crazies" she is talking about seem to be posting to this thread. I'm all for the use of alternative products. This hatred of Microsoft disgusts me though. This is a CONSERVATIVE forum. Like it or not, but it is. One of the key tenets of CONSERVITISM is CAPITILISM. That means a company has the right to SELL a product for PROFIT. You guys want something for free. You can sign up for the socialistic plan if you wish, but don't spread your filth around here about it... Linux has every right to exist. I love the idea. I have it on my laptop. (2.6) At the same time however, I realize Microsoft is a corporation that exists to make money. There are around 30,000 employees at Microsoft worldwide, all of which need income. The $200 (home edition is only $99-$120 on newegg.com) is used to pay those programmers, not to make CDs. Step into the real world for just a brief second. I mean, I'm sure most of you read. You buy books then. Do you HONESTLY believe that a book costs $30 to make? HECK NO. $.25 tops. It's paper for goodness sake. Yet, it costs more... why? Because the paper company has lots of employees, the publisher has lots of employees, and the author needs SOME compensation. Use some logic people. Good grief...
there still are a few OS/2 loonies, in coo-advocaty, we call them the FUD4
"I just have a problem with individuals decrying a company for trying to make a profit."
I guess the line is blurred between 'profit' and 'honest profit'...
The endless argument could start here about the origin of MS and its high connections... But there is no point.
As left and right always be in disagreement, the 'honest profit' defition will depend on the angle from the person observe it...
But as Linux getting more user-friendly the customer can make a fair choice...
Europe already ditching MS...
It's like my networking instructor said, "It's just an operating system, it ain't a religion!"
She is right, but this is true of any community. Hell there are people on this forum who slam anything but windows and who call Linux users communist...
Really? Have you actually seen these posts? I never would've guessed....
< /humor >
whoa there!
Not at the enterprise level. Where Linux saves yuo money is in the dev and test areas of large IT shops (those who can afford robust test and dev environments). If you want support on a linux server youre going to pay about as much.
I agree - it's just software for cripes sake. Some of these nuts need to get a life, or a job, or a girlfriend. I've never understood why any individual gives a hoot about what computer, operating system, web browser, etc. another person uses.
And then you have college kids busily writing software and giving it away for free (which is their right to do), then graduate and wonder why they can't find a job where someone will pay them to do it! Why should a company pay them? The batch of college kids behind them are still doing it for free!
What I have seen has not been attacking MS, its been attacking her? now she may or may not be a shill I dont know her work but youre off base here..
Whatever you do, don't mention the Amiga.
I tried the live Knoppix CD (based on Debian 3.3) on the same machine and it didn't seem to have trouble with any of the hardware except for running abysmally slow (no doubt due to running off the CD).
ShadowAce, I checked out that link. Wierd name, Mandriva, sounds like the angry Hindu goddess of computing! LOL
I'm talking about in general. If you have EVER read some of the stuff she is referring to, you would easily see the seething hatred for this company...
Brent Noorda on the didiot:
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20050407113517663
"But the journalistic integrity of any publication is
defeated when articles, such as those recently appearing
in the Salt Lake Tribune, include quotes from “analysts”
who are completely misleading and just plain wrong about
nearly every fact and interpretation. When the information
provided by analysts like Rob Enderle and Laura DiDio
weren’t incorrect, their statements represented
speculation more fitting to a daytime soap opera than to
the business section of a newspaper."
Brent's sister (Val) recently committed suicide.
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