Thomas Good <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Perhaps...but I think the fact that Linux is the only unice gaining market
>share in the server arena is a bonafide concern...Linux hasn't made a dent
>in the desktop realm. Yet.
I am under the impression that FreeBSD is also growing rapidly particularly
with Systems administrators of larger intranets and ISPs.
>I personally dislike RedHat quite alot.
>I am a FreeBSD/Slackware adherent.
Your views seem to be shared with many people who are running large scale
systems or systems where reliability essential.
I am coming from a MUMPS background and still new to Unix (although I used
it many years ago as a student). We have just recently installed both
Redhat Linux and FreeBSD on test systems in our shop. I am planning on
setting up Apache (possibly Stronghold SSL secured) on one or both as an
adjunct to the HTTP server that we implemented in MUMPS to provide a
Netscape interface to our hospital information system.
I am very taken with the Open Source ideas and thinking that I should not
have waited so long to give serious consideration to Unix - in some ways it
feels very familiar, like I'm coming home to a place I've never been.
>(Why ape System V when BSD does almost
>everything better - and since FreeBSD has iBCS2 it can now do the one
thing
>formerly *owned* by System V: running commercial apps well.) Anyway,
>we haven't made a dent yet - but RedHat is aiming to create a GUIified
>version of Linux where the sh prompt is hidden from all but the true
hacker.
>If (nay, when) they succeed M$ may see some numbers not to their liking.
>Obviously the real concern will arise when Gateway2000 (et al.) offer
Linux
>boxes to consumers. But it hasn't happened yet.
This may be one of those things that comes on explosively - like a nuclear
reaction. It seems to me that a number of factors in the evolution of
computing, predominant of which is the growing scale of the internet, are
coming together and nearing a point of critical mass where the benefits of
open source software become blindingly and overwhelmingly obvious.
I find myself suddenly very excited about the possibility of configuring a
large number of diskless workstations running Netscape and a minimal
configuration of Linux or FreeBSD to become the predominant desktop in our
hospital information system.
>We agree more than you may think...Microsoft is a formidable opponent.
>But formidable foes make big errors, simply based on their girth.
>And it is probable that this is a blunder rather than a thoughtful tactic.
Yes, or both. Personally, I think that Microsoft is once more far off the
mark in their understanding of the internet and the emerging phenomena of
Open Source.
>Anyhoo, back to my bread and butter. Nice chatting with you James.
>Veterinary medicine, eh? Got any code? It does peek my curiosity.
What are you looking for? You will find some code following the links from
my sig. Most is currently M plus HTML and JavaScript and a little Java. Not
very much of the HIS is visible at this time. Java applets will soon be
replacing many HTML forms and/or forms elements. I am getting seriously
interested in Perl in conjunction with Apache.
>Cheers,
>Tom
>
>Tangential matter follows...
>
>On the way to work today, listening to Gang of Four, I couldn't help but
>wonder if there isn't a way M$ can adapt one of their slogans:
>
>`Look at the world through your polaroid glasses...things'll look a whole
>lot better for the working classes.'
>
> ---------- Sisters of Charity Medical Center ----------
> Department of Psychiatry
> ----
> Thomas Good <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Coordinator, North Richmond C.M.H.C. Information Systems
> 75 Vanderbilt Ave, Quarters 8 Phone: 718-354-5528
> Staten Island, NY 10304 Fax: 718-354-5056
>
--------------------------------------
Jim Self [EMAIL PROTECTED]
VMTH Computer Services, UC Davis
Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital
http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/us/jaself
