Case for Linux is a Cultural One - Thus Far
Jack Kapica,
Globe, Mail,
Feb 13, 2003
The great Linux conversion continues apace, with the latest entry being my Dell Latitude X-200, an ultra-slim and ultra-modern laptop with wireless access built in. This computer became the next choice in much the way the last one did; something didn't work in Windows, so I decided to try it with Linux. The results were the same. This time, Windows had problems with the external CD drive, connected to the laptop with FireWire. Luc, our resident tech guru, tried to put Mandrake on it. Same problem. He also tried Red Hat and SUSE, with the same result. So we ordered a new CD drive. The problem is that FireWire is only partially supported in Linux; the drivers are available in beta form only. Of course, that's probably also true of the Windows-based drivers, only nobody actually admits that. Anyhow. This article is about the increasing use of Linux. It presents the issue as a cultural issue (which, to a degree, it is) as well as an economic issue. Overall, it's a pretty good description of the sorts of factors impacting an organization's switch to Linus. One warning: while this article cites some criticisms of Linux in a recent study by the META Group, it does not mention that the same study predicted that in a few years Linux will run on almost half of all new servers and that Mircisift would find itself offering support for Linux products. "We think Linux server stuff is going to be huge, and we don't think that's something Microsoft can walk away from," said Meta Group analyst Dale Kutnick. "We think Microsoft will (support Linux) because there are powerful economics. Microsoft is an economically driven company."
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