Linux waddles from obscurity to the big time (Bankers put on Tux - my title)

USA Today ^ | 08/04/2002 | Byron Acohido

[taxcontrol]

SEATTLE — When investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein began making the switch to the Linux computer operating system in 1999, it did so to save money.

The Germany-based bank sought a less-costly way to calculate risks associated with its portfolio of investments. So it replaced 32 computer servers, based on the time-tested Unix operating systems, at an average cost of $50,000 each, with 40 Linux servers, at $3,000 a pop.

Then Dresdner discovered a bonus: Linux, the upstart open-source operating system, was not only cheaper — but also faster. The Unix servers took 17 hours to calculate how much cash the bank needed in reserve to offset its investment risk. The Linux servers made the same calculation in 11 minutes.

[taxcontrol]

Linux - reliable - scalable - cost effective. Heck, it's BETTER than sliced bread.

[grobdriver]

Unfortunately it won't go prime time until it has client software - i.e. Office - that the target market wants.

[HAL9000]

Already posted here.

[AmberWaves]

The OpenOffice Suite replaces MS Office on Windows machines, plus it also runs on Linux, so you can read and write those MS file formats. Works Great !

Price -- FREE !!

checkout http://www.openoffice.org