[Gllug] Re: is this a big problem?

[Jim Bailey]

On Aug 29, 08:49, Matthew Thompson wrote:
> 
> Nothing is free - everything has to be paid for and you couple of =20
> days spent setting up a Samba domain which is "a monster using =20
> something that not everyone will be able to readily administer." =20
> could have been easily setupp in a matter of hours using windows for =20
> a similar cost. A couple of hours and about =A3400 for Windows inc. 5 =
> CALs
> 
> For a small firm who just need some file and printer sharing the is =20
> an example of how Windows and Linux can be cost neutral. In the =20
> future, should there be a problem that causes these IT staff to be =20
> unavailable, the day to day support overhead of the Windows system is =20=
> 
> likely to be much lower.

Your arguments are fud a skilled Linux sys admin could have basic Samba
file sharing running in less than an hour a skilled MCSE Windows 2003
advanced server in about the same time.  Most small businesses don't
have a MCSE on staff.

If you are going to do small business support under Linux you should be
looking at E-smith server and spend a few hundred pounds on a consultant
to install it.  The cost of Microsoft's small business server is around
£500 plus extra if you need more than five clients.  The newEdubuntu
distro should add to the choices for small businesses and organisations
with little in house tech skills.

The smart choice for SMEs is to find a decent consultant to set them up
a useable system appropriate to their needs and then find people in
their organisation with the ability to handle day to day tasks of
creating accounts updating software etc.

The number of misconfigured and unpatched Windows servers out there is
very, very frightening.

-- 
Peace Jim :-)

keys:  http://freesolutions.net/jim/pubkey.asc

 Time is the fire in which we burn.
 -- Gene Roddenberry

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