[119054] in Cypherpunks
Re: An article from Microsoft
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jean-Francois Brousseau)
Wed Oct 13 17:56:15 1999
From: Jean-Francois Brousseau <krapht@hbe.ca>
To: cypherpunks@algebra.com
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 19:08:17 -0500
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Message-Id: <9910131909390A.01334@nulix>
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Reply-To: Jean-Francois Brousseau <krapht@hbe.ca>
Actually, Linux isn't even tougher to install than Windows. Many people use Windows and become
completely clueless when it comes to reinstalling it. Same thing for Linux. I recently installed
RedHat 6.1 on a friend's computer, and the installation was in X with a very easy setup.
Anyone slightly interested can now get it installed in 15 minutes or so!
On Mon, 11 Oct 1999, mgraffam@idsi.net wrote:
> On Mon, 11 Oct 1999, J.A. Terranson wrote:
>
> <much that I agree with snipped>
>
> > Novell has a place. *nix has a place. Even Windblow$ has a place... A
> > "skilled" administrator will not be any
> > more interested in putting a M$ box in a mission-critical server application
> > that s/he will be in putting a *nix
> > box on a newbies desk...
>
> I take exception with this. Linux is a viable desktop platform for some
> newbies. Sure, Linux may be harder to install: but most newbies don't
> install their OS. Most newbies use whatever apps ship with their computer.
> If they get MS Office, they'll use MS Office. If they get Corel Office
> Suite, they'll use that. If they got Linux and Applixware, they'd use that
> too.
>
> If the user is a true newbie who is going to fire up their computer,
> launch an office suite, web browser, and maybe (when the boss isn't
> looking> a card game or two, Linux (or FreeBSD, or whatever) is an
> excellent choice. If your users will need a more varied array of
> applications, then having Windows becomes more important.
>
> Many places tend to have far more PC's doing tasks like the above than
> they have mission-critical servers, and Linux can do those tasks cheaper
> than Windows can. Linux itself is free, and solutions for the above
> tasks are free, or of minimal charge -- certainly less than an MS Office
> license. This can save companies lots of money, which is always nice, and
> if you're an NPO, it is vital.
>
> Michael J. Graffam (mgraffam@idsi.net)
> "Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine."
> Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience"
