[TriLUG] Fw: Re: Re: [rtpnet-tact] Status: Time for Linux, perhaps Lindows or Mandrake ?

Mon Jul 21 10:31:45 EDT 2003

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I would say that from a stability standpoint you will be much happier 
with Linux.  Fewer blue screens and lockups.  Most distributions don't 
come with Star Office, they come with the open source version Open 
Office.  I've been very happy with that (and it saves to Word, Excel and 
Power Point files).  That'll save you at least $100 per machine as you 
don't have to purchase Microsoft Office.  For your suplemental CD, (if 
you go the Red Hat way) I'd include mp3 support from freshrpms.net and 
yum (also from that site).  That'll allow the playback of MP3s as well 
as automatic software updates.

You'll want as much memory in the machines as possible.  RHL 9 won't 
install if you have less than 64MB RAM.  For a distro with a smaller 
install footprint and memory/processor requirements look at Debian or 
even Knoppix (which is a cd based Linux Distribution).

Also, if they are going to be doing this on a large number of machines, 
I would highly suggest setting up a kickstart installation.  This allows 
you to set up multiple nearly identical machines effortlessly, i.e. no 
user input needed.  Kickstarts are easy to create from an installed 
version of Red Hat Linux.

Now for dollar costs: Microsoft Windows 98 can be had for 25-30 dollars, 
but don't expect any updates.  Microsoft will be phasing out support for 
this OS as it has for NT 4.0 by the end of the year.  XP will set you 
back about $80 per machine for the home version.  Professional about 
$130/machine.  Support is only for an initial 90 days.  After said 90 
days support incidents will cost about $90 a call.  Office small 
business edition will cost at least $100 per machine.  This is a 
necessity if you want to print Doc files.  OpenOffice for Windows 
available as an alternative to M$ Office.  You will also need a virus 
scanning suite, which if you go with one of the industry leaders 
(McAffee or Symantec) will run you $35-$50 per machine.  Going the 
microsoft route also requires more hands on system administration.  Each 
machine will have to be updated regularly: Windows updates, Office 
updates and virus definition updates.  This is not an automatic process 
(until you get to XP professional, at least on the Windows Updates 
track).  Which means that the admin (or the user if savvy enough) must 
manually download and install the updates.  Virus Definition updates are 
more streamlined, however Administrators must visit each machine to 
ensure that the user hasn't disabled any of these updates.

If you want/need a boxed software version of Linux it'll run between 
$45-$100, but includes almost everything you need.  The firewalling 
support in Linux is much easier than in M$ 2000/XP, and therefore can be 
completely locked down to incoming connections.  Of course being open 
source, you can download the software for free, even CD images.  What 
you don't get when you download the free versions is automatic updates 
for more than one machine (that's why I suggested yum above), or 
installation/technical support.  However, there are plenty of places on 
the web and elsewhere with enthusiasts willing to help out when they 
can.  TriLUG is a great example.  Also for the money you save not buying 
Microsoft licenses you could send your Systems Administrator to Linux 
School.  Invest in an individual rather than an established monopoly 
(which offers little or no return on investment).  For about the same 
cost of a telephone support request to microsoft you could have a 
consultant in the area come to your site, and perform close to three 
hours of setup, diagnosis, troubleshooting and/or repair.

Several studies have shown that Linux offers a better return on 
investment in the server room, and I'm sure they can be had for Linux on 
the desktop as well.  A google search should pull them up easily.  I 
also submit that running Linux requires less system administration than 
an equal number of machines running Microsoft Windows.  Probably 3:1, 
meaning that a Linux administrator could support three times the number 
of machines than a similarly skilled Windows administrator.  I work as 
an administrator in a mixed Windows/Linux environment, and that's my 
experience.

My question for you Mark, is why would anyone think of paying money for 
older software that won't be supported after the end of the year (and is 
questionably supported now) as opposed to getting newer, and in a lot of 
cases better quality, community supported software for only the cost of 
training or hiring someone to manage the system?

Joseph

Mark W4CHL wrote:

|Can anyone add more to these guys before they start down the
|Micro$oft route ?
|
|BTW - thank you VERY much for coming to the Cary Swapfest. We should 
get together with you guys and have a more fully loaded Ham workstation 
for support of digital modes, especially APRS and PSK31.
|
|My preference is Redhat, mainly because I'm more familiar with it , 
though I've toyed with Lindows (less impressed). What about a 
supplemental CD for Linux users to install support for modes above on a 
Linux PC or laptop. Your help and advice on what to put in that build 
would be appreciated.
|
|And I've got kids at Phillips MS working on Cybiko PDAs to support ham 
radio. The tools are available from Linux, have to admit haven't pursued 
them at this point, but the Window$ build tools are very Linux/Unix 
makefile oriented and lend themselves well to transition into a Linux 
environment.
|
|Cheers & 73s de Mark W4CHL
|
|--------------------forwarded note-------------------
|Dear Youth of Today,
|
|A couple of things, as mentioned earlier do you have any familiarity with
|Linux ?
|
|There are at least two versions (distributions) of Linux that are very
|well documented, easy to install, and have good support. Each includes Star
|Office as mentioned earlier and one needs only have one full version 
(or lots
|of patience in downloading and installing !) in order to be able to load
|all your donated machines with a very up to date, and Windows-like 
operating
|environment.
|
|If you are mainly going to offer:
|- Internet access
|- Interaction with PCs via web based programs and sites
|- web based e-mail
|- ability to download and print
|- and don't want to deal with as many of the virus and worm issues as
|Microsoft users do
|
|Then Linux may be for you. There are also wonderful regional Linux support
|groups that can help you with specific questions. The biggest in the area
|is the Triangle Linux group, see:
|http://www.trilug.org/
|
|Even though you can go the Microsoft route by possibly getting older
|licenses donated (that haven't been part of upgrades), I think you should
|contact Triangle Linux User's group (they have a mailing list from the 
web site
|before purusing "donations" of Microsoft software.
|
|Cheers de Mark Smith, W4CHL
|OC ARES liaison to PARC  rtpnet.org/parc
|
|Mark R. Smith  W4CHL at arrl.net
|Chapel Hill, NC http://www.qsl.net/w4chl
|_______________________________________________
|rtpnet-tact mailing list
|rtpnet-tact at rtpnet.org
|http://www.rtpnet.org/mailman/listinfo/rtpnet-tact
|
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