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Saturday, March 05, 2005

Enterprise Linux IT (Linux Enterprise Servers): NewsFactor Network - Development - Linux Reality Outstrips Linux Myth

Nice article. Complete article here


One of the things that gives Linux its power in the public mind is that comparisons have historically been to Microsoft's Windows brand products, not to other versions of Unix. On all reasonable measures of performance, stability, and technical accessibility, Linux is well ahead of the latest Microsoft products and so shines in such comparisons. It is not, however, remotely a leading edge system in the same class with the BSD family of Unix products and Sun's Solaris.


Enterprise Linux IT (Linux Enterprise Servers): NewsFactor Network - Development - Linux Reality Outstrips Linux Myth: "A Sun Ray user interrupted at work can, for example, pull her java card from the machine she is working on, cross the country to another office, plug the card into a machine there, and continue typing where she left off."

for example, sells a fully equipped Linux PC for US$796 including a 15-inch LCD and lots of free software to meet the needs of office professionals, systems developers and Web service providers. In contrast, the comparable Dell Latest News about Dell Computer $799 2400 combines what amounts to the same hardware with only a basic Microsoft operating system license and no applications. Adding Microsoft Office costs $399 more. A code development system adds $529; even just extending the OS license to the office release adds $70 -- and all of this stuff has free equivalents that are as good or better under Linux.

In effect, what they're finding is that an open-source package like the OpenOffice.org suite doesn't have all the features claimed by Microsoft's Office Professional. But it doesn't lose files, there's no cost beyond downloading and setup, no upgrade pressure and few restrictions on exchanging files with other systems -- including Microsoft's.

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