You've heard that VMS is difficult and less flexible, and balk at the prospect of leaving Unix, don't you? Don't worry. VMS, one of the finest UNIX descendants, is not more difficult to use than Linux; actually, I find it easier. Although Linux aficionados may not agree, in many people's opinion VMS is much more powerful, stable, regular, and versatile.
VMS and Linux are both good operating systems and accomplish essentially the same tasks, but VMS has a few features that make it a good alternative to Linux. VMS uses the same X-Windows as Unix. VMS may soon use the same Itanium chips that other PCs will. Moreover, VMS uses friendly, consistent English-like commands while Linux does not, and modern Alpha-based VMS machines can outperform a Pentium. VMS is a rock-solid, industrial strength operating system used for 24/7 critical operations by many companies such as major hospitals. The icing on the cake is the excellent performance of modern video cards, which turn an Alpha-based VMS box into a fast graphic workstation; nearly always quicker than dedicated machines.