Re: [edlug] Stallman's talk

[Mike Moran <mike_moran@xxx.xxx.xxx>]

On Friday, May 28, 2004, at 10:27PM, Dick Middleton <dick@xxx.xxx.xxx> wrote:

>
>On Friday 28 May 2004 23:08, James Eaton-Lee wrote:
>> there simply
>> isn't the money to train or hire someone competant in *all* of the
>> fields which they require to administer a set of linux machines to
>> handle all of their needs: the average small to medium charity office
>> requires:
>
>The implication is that somehow it's easier to do these things with doze than 
>linux.  Different I can accept but easier - no.   

Well, as far as I understood what he was saying, there exist 'out of the box' solutions
for Windows from Microsoft aimed at the small business. Is there such a thing for
Linux? If not, then I would say it is easier to use Windows *in this situation*. Surely you would
agree?

Note that this is not a static situation. If someone could assemble all the requisite parts for such
a 'Small Business Linux' in some sort of Knoppix or Smoothwall style package then that would be
a part of the solution. Note also, that there'd have to be some confidence that either the developers
and packagers behind this distribution, or some sort of community, would stay around long enough
to provide support and documentation for the distribution.

I find some of this discussion similar to the choice to use JSP for the view layer of a Java Servlet
system. It isn't 'the best', but assuming you treat it with kid-gloves, you can get a lot out if it
simply because there is so much shared knowledge (books, articles) and code out there. The same
goes for GNU/Linux, GNU/Mach, GNU/whatever against Windows. You have to calculate the costs of
selection and usage so that they include the advantagious ability to find more documentation on the
technically 'poorer' operating system.

Note that none of the above includes any discussion about the 'ethics' of using GNU/whatever. Interestingly
enough, though never having worked in a charity, I would expect it is *these* types of arguments which
will lever Free software into such organisations; I doubt any of them have the time or motivation to
consider in detail the ethical aspects of something, which in the end, is a mere tool on which to fulfill other
goals. It's sad, I admit, but I think it is the case.

-- 
Mike the troll http://houseofmoran.com/blog/
-
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