Hi Stephen, I do exactly the same thing here in Western Australia,
I have several clients over here that are running linux.. and they proudly tell everyone that they are "hip" enough to be running a linux server.. (though ususally they don't even know how to log into it..) I use several as fileservers, mail/spam/virus filters, gateways, proxies, backups, DNS, webservers etc etc.. much the same stuff you are talking about. most of them are over the moon that they don't need client licenses for all the workstations anymore... Its good stuff. :-) regards Franki -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Stephen Kuhn Sent: Wednesday, 30 July 2003 7:04 PM To: Mandrake Newbie Subject: [newbie] OT: Peaceful Coexistence This is slightly OT, but I wanted to show something about how consumers think (non-geek consumers that are looking for SOLUTIONS and not OS wars). I have a customer - they're a building/architecture firm here in Wollongong, New South Wales (Australia!); they spend very large amounts of money on software necessary to do their work (AutoCAD and a financial/accounting package with estimation and cost factoring that works hand-in-hand with AutoCAD) but cannot necessarily run out and purchase new machines every year to keep up with the techno-tide; they run primarily XP, Win2k and Win98SE - and they're happy doing this as it suits their purposes and their comfort levels - they're stuck into using computers all the time - day in and day out and don't have the time to "relearn" new applications, new operating systems or new office suites. They need a server - file server and print server (at least this is what they wanted at first) - on top of this, they want a way to protect the network from bugs'n'nasties, and the horrible pop-up ads and other junk that ends up cluttering up their email boxes. They have no care as to what is what - just that it's a machine to do the job. They want to do it for the least amount/least cost, but most punch. I'm building them a linux server. This machine will be their mail server (wow, really?), their file server, their print server, their fax server (wow, really?), their proxy server (wow, really?), their firewall and internet gateway (super wow, really?), their backup server (even bigger wow's and really's!?!), their "profile" storage server, and last but not least, their "intranet" server (Gosh and jeepers! Way cool!); cost was the factor. They were given an outline of the machine and it's capabilities - without really telling the "boss" what OS the machine was going to have - he was over the moon with the "total cost"; question did come, though, as to what it was going to run - to which he was told "linux"; "Oh really? Ok...is that cheaper than Windows server?" - I then proceeded to tell him that it would cost literally another $3000 to $5000 for an "All Windows" server. Nah. No go. "Um, I like the first one you said"..."Linux?" - "Yeah, that one". He was told that he (or I) can actually completely administer the machine remotely - or perform maintenance or support remotely - no extra cost (except for the support contract which is still not alot of money); way cool! That's really cool! Here's some things he liked right off the bat: * No need to learn any new applications * No need to understand anything new * No change of "visual" infrastructure * No training necessary for the workers * No "thinking" about doing backups (they hate that) * No "poking around" with ADSL settings anymore * No need to manually virus scan stuff * No worries about viruses born through email * No more pop-up ads * pr0n dialers can't work anymore (boss surfs a bit) * Everyone's activities can be monitored by the boss * No need to have me visit physically * No more need to have me do support "on site" (unless something really screws up) * No licensing with Microsoft (He hates those ties) He asked about updating the software. I said it updates itself. Big smile. He asked about how the antivirus software updates. I said it updated itself. Bigger smile. He asked if he had to do manual scans for bugs anymore - I said "Only if you want to" - He digs that. These people don't give a rat's bum about being loyal to Microsoft or to another - they're worried about cost and effectiveness. If he can get two more years out of a box with Win2k on it or Win98SE on it, he's over the moon. Less overhead. Now, what I'm trying to get at here is this simple fact: Linux and Microsoft can get along - and get along quite well together. I went through this same thing about 10 years ago with Macs and PC's - and shown people time and time again that they can live happily together and not be a thorn in anyone's side. Linux - especially when used properly as a server that's setup nicely and setup for alot of monotonous repetitive tasks can make a network with MS products more stable and more safe; for all intents and purposes, Windows was built to be a "workstation" and really nothing more (although it's always pushed into trying to be a server product); end-users can happily be in XP and linux happily sits in the background churning away at the tough jobs - jobs it was designed to do from the get-go... Now there might come a time when I can show this particular customer that a linux workstation might be a good choice for an addition there in the office, but currently, it's of no use - they ain't got the time nor the freedom to "test" this... ...and they saved thousands of dollars off of "locked in licensing" of a Microsoft product - and that money saved is money I'll get back out of them when they purchase something else they've been wanting almost more than a new server - 19" monitors! ...resume your course... -- Wed Jul 30 20:35:01 EST 2003 20:35:01 up 23:27, 2 users, load average: 0.28, 0.27, 0.16 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----- | __ __ |kuhn media australia | | /-oo /| |'-. |http://kma.0catch.com | | .\__/ || | | |================================| | _ / `._ \|_|_.-' |stephen kuhn | | | / \__.`=._) (_ | email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | ------------------------------------------------------------ ----- linux user #:267497 linux machine #:194239 * MDK 9.1+ & RH 9 Mandrake Linux Kernel 2.4.21-11mdk Cooker for i586 ------------------------------------------------------------ ----- * This message was composed on a 100% Microsoft free computer * Beware the new TTY code!
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