Re: CNN / InfoWorld article on Linux vs. NT (with some AS/400 referen ces)

[Blair Wyman <wyman@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Excerpts from midrange-l: 25-Mar-99 Re: CNN / InfoWorld article.. Pat
Barber@postoffice.wo (851*) 

> Does anybody besides me find it funny that IBM is now looking at
> Linux(Unix Lite) 

PMFJI, but Linux is actually a fully POSIX-compliant UNIX implementation
-- nothing lite about it. 

>  I just find it odd that everybody is raving about somthing that Windows
> was supposed to have killed dead, but now reappears in a new name and
> everybody suddenly goes oooooooooh.... "look at this new thing".... 

The rumors of UNIX's death have been greatly exaggerated.  *8-) 

The raving about Linux has actually been going on, in ever-widening
circles, for several years -- it's only just recently reaching a fevered
pitch.  IMO, any competent computer professional has (or will soon have)
Linux on their 'radar screen' as an alternative to W/xx...   

Interestingly, Dell is actually shipping some new PCs with ONLY Linux on
them.  At home, I dual-boot between Linux (for serious work) and Windows
95 (for game-playing) -- I have for 3 years now (and I'm a relative
Linux newbie). 

The wealth of software out there for Linux is quite amazing.  One
typical example is an ephemeris (star-charting) tool called 'xephem'
that can go so far as to connect over the 'net to a remote server which
feeds the thousands of 'background' star locations for plotting part of
the sky...  Orbital diagrams, animated Jovian moon info, and stuff I
wouldn't even *begin* to know how to use are included.  It will print
your star chart to your local printer, and I think you can even get it
to point your telescope if the scope is appropriately equipped. 

Cost for all this functionality?  It's free.  Period. 

Another example is 'wine,' the Win32 API implementation for Linux.  Many
popular WinXX games (and full-blown applications, too) run under wine,
complete with their WinXX look-and-smell.   

Cost?  wine is free.  Compelling, eh?   

Of course, I don't believe Linux will cross swords with OS/400 anytime
soon -- the applications sets are pretty-much orthogonal, and the
tooling up and maintenance costs of Linux currently put it in a
different stratum...  Suffice it to say that; if you love your AS/400
for ease-of-use, you'll have to find a different reason to love Linux. 
*8-) 

Just my 2 cents worth. 

  ___   _           Blair Wyman                  IBM Rochester 
 ( /_)  /  _  ' _   (507)253-2891            blairw@us.ibm.com 
__/__)_/_<_/_/_/_'  Opinions expressed may not be those of IBM 

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