Science Forums 2

[Buffy]

Okay, calm down alexander. I actually know Laura, and she's a pretty smart cookie. Moreover, I used to do what she does for a living at a different analyst company. The key to being a good industry analyst is to be controversial, and she can do it in spades. Although someone obviously got under her skin (bad move in this business), some of your key points are just as selective in portraying the truth as hers are.

The problem in this debate--as unfortunately is the case in most "my apple is better than your orange (to mix my metaphors)--is that the various conflicting views in fact are all equally valid. I actually buy into the basic bottom line of Windows having a lower TCO, simply because there are more resources out there for it. It can crash twice as often and still have less down time than Linux, according to the numbers above, maybe even more. I'll buy that! I know lots of IT heads who get *very* nervous without heavy duty support about anything that has a whiff of open source. Linux would be nowhere today without IBM according to most of my industry analyst friends. Whoa! Hows that for "software wants to be free?"

No question things are evolving, but my bottom line is that you've got to use the right tool in the right situation. Windows is a hammer and Linux is a wrench. Don't use hammers on bolts or wrenches on nails....

Cheers,
Buffy