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As for the applications you are referring to, there are about 190,000 commercial applications available for the Windows platform (per PC Week statistics) there are about 300,000 open source and free programs listed on the web for Linux and Unix systems. Patches not included. There are approximately 50,000 available commercial programs (outside of the OS themselves). You check my numbers.
As for supportability and money, do you think the people in Wall Street use Windows for their OS? No, they do not. One reason is because REAL TIME applications are NOT supported by ANY version of Windows, even Windows 2000 Advanced Server. That doesn't even approach that scalability issue. Or security. Or platform independence. Can Windows 98 work on a Sparc station (except under a VM session)? Of course not. Gee, I guess that's why Wallstreet doesn't use Quicken!
As for the desktop user, Linux is the focus of every major PC magazine. Not Microflush. There is no shortage of applications. There is no shortage of FREE support and paid support, and there is no shortage of companies currently evaluating the GNU software model (open source) for a HUGE cost savings in their existing business models. Talk about support? If just 5% of the Fortune 500 took the Windows OS out of their networks, and used only Linux (and compatible hardware), the IS staff's competency in Linux/Unix would quadruple in less than 3 months, the users knowledge-base would SLIGHTLY increase (due to some retraining) and work would continue to get done. Software such as StarOffice is excellent at replacing other office suites. It is able to import and export native Windows files without problems. Did I mention that the companies would save an estimated $8 to $10 million dollars anually? Each. If you could see this, you would understand what I have against a company that is creating a monolithic code base of which none is freely available. Who cares about Macromedia Flash or stupid human tricks? Neither are involved in business in a major way. As for reading HOWTOs, ANY text reader can read them. Or a web browser. Or even your beloved MS Word. Using them intelligently is another thing. If reading is a problem, that isn't the O/S fault. I couldn't have figured out what the authors wanted in WFW 3.11 for networking when I first saw it either, but I READ the manual and the online help (far more sparce than you would care to remember), and took the time to get it functional for my users. That is the logical progression of software. Development, deployment, research, and improvement. It will continue at a faster pace in the open source market faster than the closed source market because of the shear number of developers and the lower entry point into the OS. Forget apps. They're secondary to this conversation. Apps will follow the same path based on the cost and the OS their based on, and their adaptability to the business model they're applied towards, in this case general use.
I will allow you this, as a new user, Linux is FAR more open, and thus intimidating. However, almost anyone can configure a simple computing environment with Linux, given a desire to learn a little more than just point and click. There is a steeper ramp-up with Linux than with Windows to be sure, but not much more so than from MacIntosh to Windows. And the steepness is being levelled moreso everyday. Installing a top end Linux workstation is not much more difficult than putting Windows NT on an Alpha box. In fact, I think that it's easier because the install scripts are written more plainly in the Linux OS than Windows.
If you understand that Linux is so poorly written, what are you doing to make it better? When was the last time a Microsoft developer took the time to ask YOU as a user what you wanted to see on the next version of Windows? Feel free to add feature requests ANYtime you like to the developers listed in the Mandrake Linux website. They maintain a list of e-mail addresses and you can write to them. And you should get a response from any of them. Not some auto responder either.
You need to do what I did, think for yourself. don't believe what Microsoft is marketing. READ the manuals. You will discover the limitations and come to the same conclusions that I did. You are not in charge of the computer, Microsoft is.
Happy reading
Steve W
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