[Tfug] Linux is NOT Windows

[erich]

   Never mentioned in this writeup is the fact that x-windows is
network-transparent.
This is the primary reason I prefer Linux to that other operating
system.  An X client
working on an X host makes the operating system irrelevant. This means
that I can
swap/mix-and-match computers with different  architectures and operating
systems,
and my LAN with its embedded workstations will still work.  The
workstatons themselves
are very conservative  old versions of Linux while the
internet-interface machines are
configured with the latest versions of
kernel/kde/Mozilla/Mozilla-Firefox. There are
old legacy DOS machines that I run from the workstations too. They have
legacy
financial software as well as MATLAB and telephone dialing software. 
   Network transparency is inimical to a for-profit software company's
business
model. That's why Gates was so eager to trounce Netscape.  A web browser
does
the same thing as an x-client on an x-host in a narrow sense, and it
renders the
arcitecture/operating system irrelevant.

                                                                                                                  
Erich
 Angus Scott-Fleming wrote:

>Interesting take on this ... paragraphs are from near the end of the article:
>
>http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm
>------- Included Stuff Follows -------
>Linux is NOT Windows
>
>    If you want an OS that doesn't chauffeur you around, but hands you the 
>    keys, puts you in the driver's seat, and expects you to know what to do: 
>    Get Linux. You'll have to devote some time to learning how to use it, but 
>    once you've done so, you'll have an OS that you can make sit up and dance.
>
>    If you really just want Windows without the malware and security issues: 
>    Read up on good security practices; install a good firewall, malware-
>    detector, and anti-virus; replace IE with a more secure browser; and keep 
>    yourself up-to-date with security updates. There are people out there 
>    (myself included) who've used Windows since 3.1 days right through to XP 
>    without ever being infected with a virus or malware: you can do it too. 
>    Don't get Linux: It will fail miserably at being what you want it to be.
>
>    If you really want the security and performance of a Unix-based OS but 
>    with a customer-focussed attitude and an world-renowned interface: Buy an 
>    Apple Mac. OS X is great. But don't get Linux: It will not do what you 
>    want it to do.
>
>--------- Included Stuff Ends ---------
>
>
>
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