Linux it's free... Good Thing Because It's Full Of Bugs.. 4621

Kier,

I've been following along and thought I might have a comment that would fit into the discussion.

The statement: "This isn't a smart aleck question but if a person has everything he needs in windows, why would he go to something almost as good?"

is interesting to me. In my little part of the universe, I see all operating systems and applications as having the same question apply. So... I evaluate each solution and use the one that seems to make the most sense. Here's my split: (for what it's worth)

1. Kids systems: (Windows 98,Me,XP) They need to be able to run the latest cool games, and run the same GUI interface as the systems at school. 2. The home office: ( Quicken, online banking...Windows XP-Pro) 3. The infrastructure systems: (Linux) a. Backup engine: Linux, samba and cron make this a snap. b. Infrastructure: Linux ( Handy for setting up VPNs, Iptables, Caching web server, monitor systems on private LAN and disable kids systems at bedtime, DHCP server, DDNS server, DMZ for hardware video conferencing systems, Multimedia server, printer spooling, general purpose shared storage, intrusion detection system, and secure tunnel access for when I'm on the road.) c. Game server: Linux. ( For multi-player games like Half-Life ) d. Linux containment arena. This is a Linux system running VMware, with Windows inside of the virtual machine. This is handy for tinkering with hazardous materials (virus disbuttembly, running un-trusted software, examination for spyware and so on) The virtual machine is created, software tested, and then the virtual machine is erased. The ability to wink the entire universe into oblivion, and have the ability to create a containment field, is sometimes very handy e. Authentication: Radius server on Linux. 4. Lab systems: For doing development. Win95,98,NT,Me,XP Home, XP Pro, Win2k, Win2003, Suse 8,9, BSD 4.1, HP-UX, Solaris, RHEL 3,4, Fedora Core 1,2,3,4, Knoppix, CentOS, and

Note: All Windows systems also have anti-virus software, as well as anti-spyware, anti-popup, and various other safety net software.

For me, I use whatever system makes the most sense for any particular job I am working on, and can either walk over to the appropriate system (be it Win or Unix) or simply VNC from where I am. I don't feel the need to ever make the decision to use Windows OR use Linux-Unix. Simply use the best tool for any given job. I see the best overall solution as being a blend of resources :-)

My analogy: If I need a truck, I don't drive the sports car, but there are times when I want the sports car.

Enjoy Postmaster