In the past Linux has been used by hobbyists and system administrators who have a Unix background mainly. What I see happening today is that Linux is gaining exposure, and people are starting to give it a try, over and above those who would have traditionally used it.
Linux is equally as functional as Windows 2000 server, and arguably more so. Linux can be set up quickly to perform spefic tasks and tends to be much more stable then Windows once set up.
With this said, I must back track a bit, although Linux can be quickly set up to perform specifc tasks, this often is dependant on the system administrators understanding of Linux. If one is looking for a point and click solution then maybe Linux isn't the answer. I personally would much rather type in a few simple commands as opposed to having to try to remember a million different things to point and click on. Non the less, there are clearly system administrators that prefer this method. For the present I would say, yes if you need to be able to set things up using point and click wizards then Windows is probably the answer.
This won't be the case forever though. Most of the newer Linux distributions (Red Hat 8 point in case) are begining to emulate much of the Windows look and feel, and are also trying to incorporate alot of simple point and click wizards. Having set up Apache server from the config file manually many a time in the past, I must say that I didn't mind giving the Red Hat 8 wizard a try. I actually did find it quite intuitive. It reminded me of the MMC snap-in for IIS in Windows. Anyway, the point is, so called ease of use under Linux is improving by leaps and bounds.
Also, I really look forward to seeing Kroupware released (http://www.kroupware.org). Kroupware basically sets out to provide a feature by feature alternative to Microsoft Exchange. I think Kroupware looks very promising. I predict that once the first stable release of that is available and in mainstream distributions we will begin to see major businesses moving to Linux.
Finally, lets not forget about Wine. I'm sure Wine is capable of running third party Windows based server applications. It is really incredible what Wine is able to run now a days.
As far as office based software goes, well check out Open Office (www.openoffice.org). Also, KOffice is getting pretty good too.
It will really be interesting to see over the next few years how Linux matures.
Anyway, thats my take on it...
Regards,
Brian H.
From: "Shawn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: (clug-talk) Not running Linux yet....
Date: Sat, 30 Nov 2002 01:15:47 -0700
Was reading through the thread "Linux Work" and thought the reasons why I went with a windows server might be pertinent here...
I needed a web, ftp, and email server, as well as routing/NAT capability. I went the Linux path first because it's free, and I like the concept of open source and collaboration among developers. However, either I didn't have the patience to learn things right, or maybe I'm a little dense (can be sometimes), but I could not understand what was involved in getting postfix up and running. Postfix on it's own wasn't too much of a hassle, but it wasn't enough for me to connect my mail client to and start receiving mail. I spent my spare time over a period of two weeks trying to figure this out, without much luck. I know that if I had been more focused, I would have been successful.
On the other hand, I knew I could install Win2K, IIS, and Exchange in an afternoon. I did so and was sucessful. My email server is operational and I'm sending/receiving email through it no problem (except of course when I turn it off and forget to turn it back on....).
The deciding factor here was partially my own experience with Windows servers, and the fact that I only had to install ONE package to get my email running. I didn't have to worry about an MTA, then a POP3 or IMAP server, then tweak a bunch of configuration files, and THEN try to get my mail client talking to the server and hope it was running right. One package, and about 5 or 10 minutes of configuring the mail server. That's the primary reason I'm on a Windows server right now. When Linux can offer a simple install of it's server components, with a GUI interface (or even a command line menu system) to configure the components, then I think you'll see Linux fly. As it is, the installs are still TOO technical for the general public - most users are lost when faced with a command line, and so are a large number of techs (mostly the newer/younger crowd I'd imagine - less exposure to DOS and such).
I believe in Linux, but don't think it's ready for the desktop yet - the applications for it just can't compete at the same level as Windows (typical office applications), in terms of ease of use, limited computer skill required, and overall user experience. On the server end, I think Linux is mostly there - if you have experienced linux professionals on hand. If not, the learning curve isn't as steep for Windows servers (ignoring the common material such as network theory, routing, etc.)
I expect this is Flame material, but here's the objective thoughts of one person straddling the divide between Open source, and Microsoft... Sure, I'm expecting people to tell me that there ARE gui interfaces, and that I must not know Linux very well, but the choice is easy for me... "What's the quickest way for me to get the job done?" For me, it was the windows route. Although I'm still going to be working with Linux occasionally, and see if I can make it work the way I need.
(btw, the other factor for going with Windows was that I wanted to mess around with .NET, and MONO isn't reliable enough or complete enough yet).
My thoughts, not yours....
Shawn
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