[luau] Linux Desktop Myths Exploded

[Dustin Cross]

Aloha,

For a Corporation, their isn't a lot of cost savings in Linux on the
Desktop.  I am researching this right now for a company and find very
little difference in cost.  A company with limited tech staff is not going
to just download linux and install it on all their desktops.  They need and
want support and a newgroup doesn't count.

For a company with little to no money and no investors to worry about,
Linux is great and can be had for almost nothing if you or somebody in your
business knows or learns how to support the systems.  This isn't the case
for a business with shareholders.


Look at the prices of buying Redhat vs Windows and the support you get.
Not much difference.

Redhat Workstation Standard Edition
$299 (9am-9pm Mon-Fri phone support with 4 hour response and one year RHEN
subscription)

Windows 2000 Professional
$319 (two incidents Phone Support, $245 per incident after first two for
Phone Support, MS Update Free)

Windows XP Professional
$299 (two incidents and unlimited installation support Phone Support, $35
per incident after first two Phone Support, MS Update Free)

Here is an example if you buy a complete workstation:

HP xw8000 2.4Ghz Xeon

With Windows XP Pro - $1709
With Redhat 7.3 - $1781

This system comes with the exact same service and support no matter which
OS you buy, but Windows costs a little less.

So as you can see, there really isn't much difference in cost.

Salaries for Linux admin and a Windows admin are about the same, but there
are a lot more MCSEs than there are RHCEs.  That means you will have an
easier time finding a certified windows admin.  But that doesn't mean that
an MCSE is a better admin than an uncertified Linux admin.

The company I am working with, several of the people have many years
experience with Unix and Linux, and we will use Linux on servers and other
systems, but we are still concerned about putting Linux on our desktops,
because non-*nix people will have to use them and we are not in the
business of Linux desktop support.

Mahalo,
Dusty