[aclug-L] old news/but nice to hear

["Frost, Keith A" <Keith.Frost@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> ----------
> From:         Williams, Jimmy D
> Sent:         Friday, September 11, 1998 1:41 PM
> To:   Frost, Keith A
> Subject:      linux
> 
> Heres a boeing related news item that I thought would interest you.
> The URL is in YAHOO search - stock market quotes, with ba selected for
> a stock
> 
> 
> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/technology/zdnet/story.html?s=n/i
> nter_ctive_week/technology/19980911/19980911102
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Home - Yahoo! - Help
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> Friday September 11 12:56 PM ET 
> 
> Linux: The back door is open
> 
> By Tom Steinert-Threlkeld, ZDNet
> 
> It's sometimes called the Internet's operating system. No, I'm not
> talking about the Java OS from Sun Microsystems Inc. and IBM Corp. 
> 
> Rather, it's Linux, the Unix clone that has suddenly -- or so it seems
> -- become the programmer's choice to unseat Windows as the operating
> system
> of choice on servers and desktops. 
> 
> To date, Linux largely has been the favorite of Internet service
> providers, some Web sites and a lot of academic institutions. Lately,
> it's sprouting
> around some large organizations, such as The Boeing Co., Cisco Systems
> Inc. and Northern Telecom Inc. And it's gaining support from
> mainstream
> developers, most notably Informix Corp., Oracle Corp. and the Web's
> first software darling, Netscape Communications Corp. 
> 
> Yet, the idea that Linux could become a serious alternative to Windows
> still seems absurd, a dream born of desperation. How could any
> responsible
> company think about putting an operating system with no unified
> marketing or support organization to work in "mission-critical"
> situations? After all,
> Apple Computer Inc., Novell Inc. and Sun all seem unable to stop
> Microsoft Corp. from dominating the desktop and, eventually, the
> server. How
> could a piece of free software, like Linux, ever hope to turn the
> tide? 
> 
> By changing the underlying economics of operating systems, in
> time-honored Net fashion. 
> 
> How did Netscape get its Navigator product to become the dominant
> browser on the Web almost overnight? By allowing it to be downloaded
> for
> free. 
> 
> How did Microsoft take away market share? By giving away its Internet
> Explorer browser for free, after Netscape began to sell Navigator. 
> 
> Now, the tables could turn again, in the very heart of computing. It's
> hard to imagine a collaborative effort of professional developers
> succeeding at
> giving away an operating system, but that doesn't mean it can't be
> done. 
> 
> First, the Netscape and Microsoft browser instances show that quality
> software can be given away -- if there is an ulterior motive for doing
> so. In
> Netscape's case, it was to lay the foundation for a larger Net
> software business that could be built on having its "net-top OS" on
> every screen. For
> Microsoft, it was to undo Netscape -- and retrofit its OS for the Net
> era. 
> 
> The developers who are molding and enhancing Linux do so not because
> they want to make money on the operating system. Instead, they want to
> make money selling information, digital transport and hosting, advice,
> merchandise or something else on the Net. Or they want to model the
> atmosphere. Or what have you. Regardless, they want a reliable
> operating system at the lowest possible cost. 
> 
> Second, usage of Linux will prove whether or not it is indeed more
> reliable and flexible than Windows -- and Windows NT in particular,
> whenever
> the fifth version finally comes out. Because of Microsoft, many people
> just assume computers crash all the time. But that doesn't actually
> have to be
> so. As Linux's namesake and 1998 Net poster boy Linus Torvalds notes:
> "Computers are really reliable things that do everything you want them
> to
> do and nothing else." 
> 
> Finally, there's more to the "free" aspect of Linux than just price.
> What also will drive usage among information systems (IS) managers is
> that the
> code itself is free. If something needs to be fixed, a decent
> programmer can get inside it, fix it and share the results. With
> Windows, the engine comes
> without manuals and the hood is welded shut. Therein lies the back
> door through which Linux can get to corporate IS departments. What
> gets Linux
> in the door may be financial exigency -- there's never enough money to
> start up a reliable Web site, for instance. But what will keep it
> around is
> superior performance, which can be proven by tracking how often Linux
> servers have to be rebooted vs. Windows NT servers. 
> 
> And if Windows NT proves to be a train wreck, as its continuing delays
> suggest is possible, then Linux's rise to prominence could prove
> exquisitely
> timed: Get Linux onto servers; wait for a decent interface and better
> office applications to develop; then, move onto the desktop. All the
> while, keep
> emphasizing that support will come from the thousands of Linux
> developers -- all who understand its inner workings and who don't work
> for a single
> monolithic software company. 
> 
> That's a model that indeed could make life uneasy for Microsoft, which
> can't ever afford to open Windows to outside developers to tweak or
> fix. If it
> ever tried to give Windows away for free, it would have a hard time
> explaining to an antitrust judge why it used to charge for it. 
> 
> Lest you think that such "open" computing can't possibly win, just
> look back at the primal lesson of desktop computing of the '80s: Open
> up your
> architecture to all comers and win -- or keep it closed, like the
> Macintosh, and lose. 
> 
> See Also: 
> Get help for your computer problems at the Help! Channel 
> Read hot news at ZDNN 
> Work from home? Get good advice from the Small Business Advisor 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> Jim Williams
> Principal Engineer
> (316) 526-6676
> 
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