[RedBloodedAmerican]

FYI ~ InfoWorld is a free subscription.

[sasquatch]

I like DOS.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Rockin' on without Microsoft

[rdb3]

The Penguin Ping.

Wanna be Penguified? Just holla!

Click and find out!

Got root?

[MarkL]

I'm a very strong believer in using the best tool for the job. Linux definately has it's place in many, if not all, organizations.

For example, in a small office setting where people have been using individual workstations, often it's cheaper and easier to install a linux server rather than a Windows or Novell server. If high levels of security aren't needed, SAMBA works just fine. And there are backup utilities that automate both the backup and disaster recovery.

On the other hand, a church where I volunteer got a proposal to "upgrade" their system. Right now, the place is strictly a Novell shop. They've got 2 NetWare 4.11 servers (they used to have two locations that have since been combined into a single site), GroupWise for email, and a BorderManager system as their firewall...

This other company also likes Novell for their file and print services, as well as email (GroupWise), but suggested putting in a "real firewall," a PC running BSD, and setting up a linux system for their website (they currently pay for web hosting). I was shocked to hear that BorderManager wasn't a "real firewall," and suggested that they barely know how to change the tapes on their systems, are they sure that they really want to bring two new and different OSs into the mix? More importantly, if they want a "real firewall," why not just get a Cisco PIX firewall and be done with it?!?!? Geez! If they want to run their web site on Apache, just use NetWare! They weren't aware that they could do any of that... Personally, I hope that the other company gets the contract, that way I won't be called at all hours! lol.

In closing, just use the right tool for the job!

Mark

[First_Salute]

Switching to the Mac with Mac OS X is much cheaper than either using Windows machines or Linux machines.

[lelio]

?Backups have been a nagging problem,? says Duncan, who notes that the medical center had been using a hot backup agent for Oracle databases on AIX and NT as part of IBM?s Tivoli Storage Manager but that this agent was not yet available for Linux.

He should look into using a NetApp file server appliance. Use the best tool for the job, and this will save you headaches in the future.

[SengirV]

Although Linux is often thought of as a free alternative to established OSes such as Windows and proprietary Unix

I stopped reading after this sentance(third one to be precise). What makes Unix proprietary and Windows not? If you start an 'unbiased' assesment like this, you lose all credibility. At least the author saved me the time of reading his drivel. Let me guess - Linux is good for a couple of things, Windows for the vast majority, and Unix could be replaced by either.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Funny, no mention of the cost of having the Business Software Alliance/Microsoft kick in the doors of your business and fine it into bankruptcy because, even though you bought enough licenses to cover all your sofware, you didn't keep track of them in the manner proscribed by Microsoft.

[snooker]

Oh boy, another article about the panacea of replacing 'expensive boxes' with 'cheap commodity' ones. That is until the cheapos fold up like a, well you know, a cheap suit. Funny how these articles always overlooks this in their simplistic TCO analysis.

You get what you pay for still applies. Cheapo commodity hardware you buy at Circuit City or Dell is still cheapo hardware prone to collasping at any time. If it's the server it usually takes your business with it. Adding RAID and clustering helps, but by the time you are done, where is the savings?

It's kind of like comparing desktop windoze to Linux and leaving out the need for all the windows systems repair utilites, virus scanners, and various other utilities you need to buy to actually run your desktop 24/7.

Buy the expensive stuff and run your business not waste your time trying to run your computers.

Been there done that, over and over again. But I keep checking back to see if 'buy the cheapo' works yet.