06-24-2006
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Join Date: Mar 2006
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Here..
You asked four questions that all effectively are the same question: is there is a difference as we have a kernel that is that cool in every way (for small business)?
Well, it depends... Sometimes if it is really small business they hardly need their own solutions, they may be better off using ISP provided DNS, and commercially available little NAS. If it is company that has real requirements they should buy a something else as GCO (general costs of ownership) with Linux is VERY HIGH. Red-Hat that is conceived as a standard Linux for enterprise is VERY expensive, I would say prohibitively expensive. For the money they ask for an installation and support (fairly crappy support over phone) one can buy complete Sun blade solution that is cool computer (and it comes with Solaris standard) and with two years of free warranty. Solaris has graphic system management console that allows to someone after some 3 days drill manage this system (for a small company), comparing to hiring someone for $30-60 per hour to do the same on Linux.
So here the difference: to have high quality hardware with warranty support and free OS on it or pay just for deficient OS and then buy crappy hardware for it.
It is not even a question, otherwise Sun, IBM and other would be long out of business.
The point who has the better kernel in to miss the point. It is as to ask: how is your "Aston Martin"'s car is better than my Kia: see I have pretty cool conditioner. Kernel is relative to the system, I do not pay for a kernel, I even do not care what kind of kernel I get (micro/mod/other), I pay for a system. One can't compare garage minded development with a state of the art technology. Linux is good for what is is good while it is free, as a system that is sale for money it can't hold water against commercially available cousins. See for example Apple's Server, that is WOW software, it is head and shoulders above anything in Linux, it is cheap, easy to install and runs on inexpensive Power Mac (some $1500-$3000) so that is example of the real quality, integrated system for little money. When it comes to business, we are not after the system that is free but for something dependable, manageable as our profits depend on that. It is all about money, if you make say $10000 per day, it is cheaper to pay $10000 for the real system rather than have "free" system that will brake more than 1 day a year.