[Cumbria] For discussion - Is Linux really ready for the Enterprise environment?

[Ken Hough]

Ian (Linwood),

I like your style.  Nothing like stirring the pot occassionaly!

I'm not an IT 'professional', but have played with desktop computing 
machines since the days of the HP programmable calculaters.
Have since used Sinclair Specrum, BBC, IBM PC/XT. Have since graduated 
from 8086 via 286, 386SX, various 486DXs, AMD 585, AMD K6II to an 
Athlon. I still have most of these.

Of these, the BBC was invaluable. BBC BASIC was OK and it provided in 
line assembler for what might be described as an early RISK processor 
(6502). I built hardware extensions via the 2 MHz bus (including EPROM 
programmer and my very own 2nd processor including boot loader 
programme). The 8 bit environment was small enough to learn on.

DOS was (and still is) OK for what it was intended for.  I still use DOS 
v6.22. A lot of real life applications do not need the complications and 
headaches of GUIs. I'm still an old DOSer at heart.

One of the reasons that I like Linux is that the GUI dosn't get in the 
way of terminal type apps  --  and it doesn't fall over!  Programme 
development under Linux is a dream.
For realatively simple projects, I run a terminal window (xterm) and an 
editor (Kate) side by side. With the aid of 'make' and the easy movement 
between windows and previous commands (via up/down arrow keys) programme 
development is very slick.  For my purposes 'Kdevelop' is OTT (I use 
perhaps only half a dozen code modules), but I usually have it fired up 
just for the 'C' language info. So far my apps have been ternimal types 
run via the command line.  Not yet got into GUI programming for Linux.

I even copy and burn CDs from the command line.  Of course, I use GUI 
apps for office type jobs and internet, etc and very good they are these 
days.

Your comments on how Linux is developing are interesting.  This lack of 
trust is largely out of ignorance.  It takes a while for people to 
understand the difference between conventional commercial products and 
'open software'. What they invariably have difficulty with is 
appreciating just how big and worldwide Linux support is.  It's easy to 
think in terms of European and American activities, but most of us 
forget the likes of 'poor' countries such as Russia, China, South 
America, India and so on. All of these have inteligent and keen people 
who are taking up Linux and running with it. The genie is out of the 
bottle! Heaven help Bill Gates!

Also, have you ever tried to get help from Microsoft as a private user? 
I have and that's what made me determined never to buy any more MS 
software.  Linux help as is far away as an email.  I beleive that the 
best protection for Linux is to help as many people as possible 
understand the philosofy behind it.

Commercial interests do pose a possible threat to Linux, so we must keep 
it in the public/open domain. Give it to IBM? Why? Linus has done a 
cracking job, but at some point the job must move on.  To be fair 
Richard Stallman has probably done more for the open software movement 
than enyone else and even he cannot go on for ever. I just hope that we 
will find comparable (non commercial) points of focus in the future. 
 Worldwide enthusiasm (both amateur and proffessional) is definately 
there and that's where Linux is different from anything that has gone 
before -- just the scale of it.

I have used SuSE Linux since trying v5.2 on a give away CD -- now using 
v8.0 which is GOOD! However, am settling on Mandrake v9.0 on an old 
laptop, only because it's managed to set up my PCMCIA cards correctly 
whereas SuSE didn't. (Yes, a lazy way out)

Regards

Ken Hough