[PLUG] dumping unix for linux

[David Mandel]

I agree 100% with Wil.  It is the APPLICATIONS that count.
If this wasn't true I would never ever run Windows.

Linux is easier to use than most other Unix OSs, and it 
has tons and tons of ready to load applications available
for it.  Has a result, it makes a wonderful desktop for 
lots of people.  I personally prefer Linux to Windows
or Mac OS because:

    -  It is easy to administrate
       (This is also true of any good Unix.
       Some people even think Windows is easy to administrate, but I 
       have trouble.)
    -  It is easy and friendly to use 
       (at least for a power user like most PLUG members)
       Most other Unix OSs have desktops similar to Linux, but they
       aren't quite as nice.
    -  There are tons of OpenSource applications for Linux
       (These can be ported to most any Unix or even Windows, but they 
       are usually ready to run on my Linux desktop without any pain at all.)
    -  Linux networks well with any Unix machine
       This makes it easy to use specialized proprietary applications on
       proprietary Unix computers without the expense of giving everyone
       a proprietary Unix computer.
    -  Linux sort of works with Windows thanks to products like
       Samba, Wine, and VMWare.
       This isn't perfect, but it is better than many proprietary Unix 
       computers do.

On the other hand, I would never restrict myself entirely to Linux.
Many applications (mostly proprietary) are only available for Windows
or some proprietary Unix.  If you need SAS or ArcInfo you need to 
run something other than Linux.  Moreover, Linux is getting more
and more stable, but it still lacks features some people need in
enterprise computing.  At least, I think it does.  This becomes less
true everyday.


                                          Sincerely,
                                          David Mandel
                                          Chief Activist
                                          Portland Linux/Unix Group
                                          560 SE Alexander
                                          Corvallis, Oregon 97333
                                          (541) 737-9153 at work (OSU)
                                          (541) 730-5285 cell

   ======================================================================
   David Mandel                        http://www.DavidMandel.com
   Portland Linux/Unix Group           http://pdxLinux.org
   LinuxFund                           http://LinuxFund.org
   ======================================================================


On Fri, 13 Oct 2006, Wil Cooley wrote:

> On Thu, 2006-10-12 at 20:27 -0700, Carla Schroder wrote:
> > I'm looking at reasons to migrate from Unix to Linux. So far I've come up 
> > with:
> > 
> > -cost
> > -flexibility
> > -better feature set
> > -dependency-resolving installers like apt and yum
> > -runs on lower-cost hardware
> > -not moldy
> > 
> > *bsd or OpenSolaris are also possibilities. I don't have any Unix experience, 
> > so I'd appreciate some wisdom from wizened I mean wise old Unix geeks.
> 
> "It's the applications, stupid!" -- More important to most people (end
> users particularly), OSS applications are in demand and, with rare
> exceptions, there is no better platform for OSS applications than a
> Linux distribution.
> 
> Wil
> -- 
> Wil Cooley <wcooley at nakedape.cc>
> http://nakedape.cc
>