Re:Isn't that nice... (Score 1)

Lotsa hot words being slung around by Micosoft and the Linux community. Truth is...most people are loyal to what they know and feel comfortable with. I, myself, have known nothing but Windows since joining the IS community several years ago. I began my career as a modest desktop support technician. I have first hand experience installing, configuring, troubleshooting, and testing many Micosoft OS's and the applications that run on them. This expereince includes but is not limited to Windows 3.1, 95 (OSR1,2,et al.), 98, Windows NT 3.51, and NT 4.0. The point is... I am MS born and bred. Funny thing happened a few months ago. I began to get a bit curious about Linux and Unix in general. I went to the store and purchased a book on Linux 5.2, formatted my own PC's HDD and began my first Linux installation. This was the beginning of the end. Up until this point, my association with Unix had been casual at best and I had never touched a Linux host. I had no clue how to begin. I don't claim to be an expert in any IS discipline, merely an enthusiastic student. The end results have altered by computing environment radically. In fact, my career has taken off in a whole new direction as well. I am learning AIX Unix as well as other OS's and starting to build my Unix toolkit as a beginner in scripting and systems management. Linux helped me overcome many FEARS I had over "changing horses midstream." I now use Linux, AIX, and NT on a daily basis. Let me add that I have made my company laptop (formally NT 4.0) a dual boot system with Red Hat 5.2. I really hate it when I have to use the NT partition. The only thing I am lacking in Linux is a mail client that is MS Exchange server compliant. Once I am able to fill the gap, can you guess what will happen to my laptop's NT partition? MS has stated that Linux is not appropriate for desktop use. I strongly disagree. I had no problems installing the KDE desktop on both my home PC and company laptop. With the addition of Sun's Star Office, I have the functionality of Office97. I can easily accomplish any task in Linux that I could in NT. MS has stated that retraining users would be cost prohitive in terms of transitioning desktops to Linux. I, again, strongly disagree. Once the Linux desktop environment is installed and configured, most clients will acclamate to the new platform without major retraining. I state this based on the following truths that I have discovered through expereince. 1.) Most endusers don't even know enough about DOS to copy a file from the command line. What's the difference if we teach them Linux commands INSTEAD of DOS? 2.) Most endusers want to read email, create documents, share files, and surf the web. Linux, KDE, and Star Office provide these simple functions with a point and click GUI, just like Windows. Who cares about teaching clients to recompile kernels? 3.) Most endusers just want to get the job done and go home. They are not computer geeks like me and don't care about how it works. The common underlying reality is this: DOWNTIME/UNRELIABILITY= MORE TIME SPENT AT WORK. Do we believe that endusers would rather continue to live in the cruelty of GPF's and Blue Screens of Death than learn a few new commands and procedures? 4.) Most endusers are not loyal to brand. They are exposed to new applications from different vendors frequently. They are required to learn new techniques and commands with every new release. Again, they are looking for the shortest distance to home. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Do the job right the first time, do one thing well, etc. Do any of these sound like basic Unix/Linux tenets? I apologize for the extremely lengthy message. There is so much more I could say about how Linux is changing my career, my computing experience, and yes...even my outlook. I will make my final points now... I.) NT has prevailed in the marketing war to gain a stronghold on American IS enterprise networks. Every vanquisher is vanquished. II.) Microsoft is threatened by its own demise. Linux is merely the contender who dares to say that the "Emporer has no clothes." III.) The Holy War will rage on and many will fall and there will be a wailing and gnashing of teeth. Note: Nonparticipants of the battle will swear allegiences to those parties whose demeanor is less offensive. Translation1: Be kind and patient with MS users who know not the error of their ways. Translation2: The Linux comminity must organize a levelheaded response to MS claims that relies on factual observations, not brand loyalty at any cost. We must be willing to openly admit our deficits, actively seek their resolution and refrain from openly bashing the competion. Non-partipants, as you may remember, are the ones that deserve to be led to the LIGHT. They will fear and loath the light if they cannot relate to the source of hostility. In short, the Linux community MUST rise above petty name calling and engage the enemy with valient rebuttal of its propaganda. I welcome all responses. Viva la resistance!