Re: Dell stops offering Red Hat on desktops

[Tony Zafiropoulos <tonyz@ctitek.com>]

On Tue, 7 Aug 2001, Steven Pritchard wrote:

> Gaming:  We need time for the distribution vendors to include 3D
> drivers for common video hardware.  It would also really help if the
> video and sound card vendors would *really* support Linux, but I'm not
> going to hold my breath.  (ATI, Intel, and 3Dfx (before they died) get
> points here.  Matrox isn't perfect, but they are a hell of a lot
> better than NVidia.)

I suppose this is momentum as well.  We need to show the gaming community
how big the installed base is.

> 
> Schools:  School administrators generally suffer from the "nobody ever
> got fired for buying M$" syndrome.  Whether it is through community
> pressure, legislation, or whatever, they need to be convinced that
> they wasting taxpayer money on Microsoft garbage is a Bad Thing.
> 

This could be done with peer pressure and case studies, show them how much
money they are saving. etc. etc.


> BTW, I have seen a high school simply convinced that Linux is a Good
> Thing.  That high school has the most successful computer program that
> I have ever seen.  They're lucky they had such a good bunch of
> students...
> 

You need to put a case study together.

> Financial:  At the high end, Linux is a good platform (like for SAP).
> At the low end, I just haven't seen the software.  Maybe it is out
> there, and I just haven't been paying attention...
> 

We need examples, the ones that I am familiar with (small companies) like
ILX and Reuters are all Windows platforms.

> Databases:  At the low end, Linux has *everything* beat, no problem.
> We've got MySQL and PostgreSQL if you want to go with free software.
> We've got *every* major commercial database.  At the high end, there
> are some performance issues that need to be worked out, but I think
> that will happen soon.  (Probably in 2.4.10 or so...)
> 
> Fortunately, I think the database vendors actually have been taking
> Linux seriously.  I'm a little surprised that Oracle (or somebody)
> hasn't just said "Linux isn't good enough" yet.  They know it is just
> a matter of time, and I guess there's enough anti-M$ momentum to keep
> them committed.
> 
> Go ahead, give me some more things to give my opinions on.  ;-)
> 

Ok, I received a MS packet "Competing with Linux" packet from a friend of
mine. He just received this (June CD stamps).

> > What are the hurdles to be overcome?
> 
> The vast majority of the hurdles come from simple momentum (everybody
> else runs Windows, right?) and bias (*way* too many people make their
> money from proprietary software).

This is what they emphasized:

Against the "Linux is inexpensive" argument...  (The quoted Linux value
proposition and the MS response)

Linux is definitely cheap, and even free if you are willing to download it
yourself, but you get what you pay for. The cost of software is a small
component of deploying and managing an enterprise IT infrastructure.

Microsoft software is already essentially "free" in large
projects-typically less than 3% of the hardware/software cost and less
than 1% of the total project cost.

Because supportability and integration are so important, Microsoft
software and commercially supported software in general help customers
where it counts: minimizing total cost of ownership and maximizing
business value, making it less expensive for customers over the long haul.

Positioning on Business Value:
Prove to customers that Microsoft solutions provide better business value.

Microsoft products provide a rich set of third party applications and are
backed by a large number of certified partners and support professionals
like yourself.

While most substantial Microsoft product offerings can never be without
cost, the old saying about "getting what you pay for" certainly applies in
this case.


"Linux is Open Source Code"

Customers want to have some influence over the direction of their
computing platform. The lack of a single owner and well-known decision
making process for open source software makes it difficult for customers
to influence or guide the direction of features. There is no certainty
that in the long term Open Source Software will evolve to meet the
changing needs of the customer and the marketplace.

The open source development model also depends on its users for
testing. Windows NT is tested daily on hundreds of OEM configurations,
connected to thousands of peripherals, running thousands of different
applications.

Such a testing lab requires deep investments and strict discipline that
cannot be easily reproduced through a loosely connected group of
individuals on the Internet. 


"Linux is more reliable"

Linux is being used for simple tasks such as file/print and static web
page serving. Microsoft customers are using Windows NT Server for
demanding, high performance, mission critical applications such as
messaging, data warehousing, decision support and e-commerce. Less heavily
loaded systems with less complex software suites have high reliability.
Four of Microsoft's key OEMs (IBM, Compaq, HP and Data General) now offer
99.9% uptime guarantees for Windows NT Server, attesting to the high
reliability of Windows NT. Research on SP4 shows that a majority of
Microsoft's customers see Windows NT Server as reliable or more reliable
than either Netware or UNIX.

Our actual operational uptime for a cadre of over 1100 servers in ITG with
a wide mixture of workloads for a recent six-week period was 99.91%, and
almost none of these systems were clustered. Clearly Windows NT is highly
reliable when operated competently on good quality hardware and properly
maintained with hot fixes and service packs.

"Linux has an extensive developer network"

Linux often uses the catch phrase "built by users for users" but a more
realistic restatement is "built by developers for developers." The Linux
development community is comprised of technical hobbyists and UNIX
enthusiasts whose idea of usability is a good text editor with which to
modify configuration files.

If the users are the developers, then the product will be shaped to suit
the mind of a developer, with ease of use taking a back seat to
flexibility. This developer focus also manifests itself in the way a
problem is often resolved: posting a patch file that the user must apply
to the original source file, then recompile and link it, and finally
re-install it.



 > 
> > We do need to be heard in the press, otherwise the pro-MS lackeys will
> > drown out everyone in the main media.
> 
> In that case, does anyone know who might take my post as an opinion
> article?

You need to get to know various trade rags and their respective
viewpoints.  Then tailor your post and write an article in the manner they
would like (like an editorial) with no sure chance of succeeding.

This can get very time consuming.

> 
> It does always worry me that the computer publications and web sites
> are naturally pro-M$, since Windows is where their advertising
> revenues usually come from.
> 

Yes, the only way to counter this, is to organize the opposition. And it
will take money to get this accomplished.

LI (Linux International) is doing some of this, but they have limited
resources.


We need to mobilize the undercurrent of individuals who would not mind
pitching in.  This will take money though.

What do you suspect peopl;e would be willing to pitch in to make a
concerted PR campaign against MS? and/or Pro Linux??

This is the idea of the marketing group I started.

What I am thinking about now is how much to require for a fee to
belong to the group.

$25-100 for individuals
$300 - $1000 for corporations

Individuals and Corps would be part of the wnos.org group  (Why Not Open
Source)

What is not clear at this point is how much to make a goal for in the
beginning...

I contacted a PR agency and they will write the articles and push our
agenda towards the media.  It costs $4000 for six months where 4 articles
will be pushed.

$1000 for logos (although we can get somebody to donate).

$2500 for Press kits, likely necessary sometime in the first six months.


Please let me know what y'all think, this could easily be promoted in the
next closest markets as well....

Chicago, SILUG area, and KCLUG. (Maybe even Nashville :)

Regards,

Tony

-- 
Tony Zafiropoulos
CTiTEK, Inc.
Supporting Linux one system at a time
Ph:  314-726-5080 x101
Fax: 314-726-5085
Cel: 314-504-3974
tonyz@ctitek.com
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character
 give him power." 
 -- Abraham Lincoln

-
To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@silug.org with
"unsubscribe silug-discuss" in the body.