[Gllug] Microsoft Get The Facts Seminar

[Adrian McMenamin]

On Sunday 20 June 2004 23:56, Tethys wrote:
> Huw Lynes writes:
> >http://www.hlynes.com/getthefacts.shtml

> 	1. Claim that linux isn't free.
>
> But the fact is, Linux *isn't* free. Yes, it's free to the likes of
> you or me. It's free to companies that have sufficiently clued up
> technical staff. But to the vast majority of companies, it costs them
> money in the form of a support contract with Red Hat or SuSE. It's
> a brave company that decides to ditch Windows in favour of a Debian
> or Fedora install, unless they have a reasonable amount of in house
> technical expertise. And most don't...
>
> Tet

Most companies are small companies. They don't have IT support contracts. The 
cost of Linux software for them is pretty close to free once they summon up 
the courage to install it. And for a small company that could be important.

Even medium sized companies might only employ one technical staff person and 
have no external support contract with anybody.

For these people the *marginal* cost of each Linux install is more or less 
nothing. But, yes, there is a cost involved in finding someone with the 
Unix/Linux skills.


For the big corportates, there are different economies of scale, but the 
attraction of Linux to them should be better security - especially as MS 
always seem to be only half a step ahead of the black hats with their 
"security through obscurity" approach.
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