*nix gives admins options they otherwise wouldn’t have, while forcing Microsoft to up its game.

On the other hand, SBS gives hands-off shops a lot of easy to use oomph in a fairly cheap package, as long as they pay an experienced admin like Vlad to watch out for security iceburgs.

The operating system isn’t as important as the person managing it.

After three years of using Linux as my main desktop and administering several other Linux and Solaris desktops and a development server I’d say that flexibility is the most important factor. There are lots of choices to be made how particular part of the system or IT infrastructure can be installed and configured. For many operations there are tens of options, be it mail and web servers, system loggers, firewalls, even desktop environments. Most of these programs (err… solutions, in the marketing language) are free, in both meanings: cost and liberty. In Linux we take it for granted, but there are literally years of man-hours behind these programs. And all developers involved in these projects have my great respect for their work that they freely publish.

Convenience is another important factor. It is indeed very convenient to have a well-thougt out GUI, with enough features to work with. It really speeds things up if we don’t have to remember all the nifty parameters and consult manuals when in a hurry. That said I find it sometimes even more convenient to update simultaneously software in 10 desktop systems, by simple means of sshd, ssh keys and remote command execution. All after a single “Enter” (!). That’s the power I was unable to get when I was using Windows. But let’s stick to the original topic.

Understanding is built day after day of using a chosen system. But even after working years with OS, one doesn’t necessarily has to know all the details of internal workings, possibilities and features. It’s simply not possible and often not desirable. Think about your car - you just USE IT, you don’t have to know exactly how its carburetor or injection system works, right? Personally, I’ve found it more convenient to write shell scripts that give additional power to my systems, than using Windows Scripting Host. Even if I know how to use ActiveX or write a COM+ server. I’d bet that more than 80% of Windows admins don’t know how to automate things using WSH. On the contrary, I’d bet that more than 80% of Linux admins know how to write shell scripts, because they are in heart just lists of programs invocations with some control structures. Talk about understanding.

Familiarity is the most important for end users. End users don’t want to learn how computers work. They want to achieve their own goals by using computers. Anything that’s infamiliar and interferes with the “normal” flow of things just disturbs end users. And if it happens that your client is the one that’s disturbed by Linux, incompatibilities and lack of features, well, you may simply lose that client. Which is, of course, bad.

Trust and brand-loyalty are the results of good experiences with given technology. Give me one example where these two factors don’t influence decisions. I haven’t mentioned security, because all programs occasionally have bugs, no matter if they are free, open-source or proprietary.

All the problems that people have with Linux, free software and open-source in general reduce to the fact that this phenomenon is something completely different. How many times does it need to be explained that there IS support for Linux-related problems? But in order to benefit from it one has to understand the way this whole thing works. People that use computers and software in business tend to treat them as just another tool (which, by the way, they are). In case of a thing that people buy, from Microsoft for example, they expect to have a single point of contact should the things go wrong. In case of free and open software, well, it’s just different. One has to go to the exact people or groups that know how to handle specific problems. One has to know how to ask smart questions. One has to know how to behave. Developers and maintainers give a lot of their work for almost nothing, and for some people it’s still not enough. Sheesh. If that’s not hipocrisy then I don’t know what it is.

From what I understood about Vlad’s position is that his customers have specific needs and they want to fulfill them NOW. Microsoft’s SBS offering is targeted at such customers and I’m not surprised at all that he defends his position. But in all this argumentation maybe we all simply forget that free & open source projects’ maintainers are not stupid nor deaf. Ask yourself: have you ever found a missing functionality and filed a Feature Request to get it FOR FREE? Have you described your intentions and needs, have you pointed out possible solutions? Have the developers taken your request seriously and created such a feature? I have. They have.

I have filed lots of bug reports and several feature reqests. Most of bugs have been taken care of, and most (!) of the requests resulted in NEW functionality. That’s why my experience allows me to think that this is the way to go. For one, Vlad’s experience is very valuable, because he knows exactly what’s missing and what should be changed to provide an even better solutions. Think about it and take this step by yourself. Be proactive. Don’t just wait and complain that Linux is too tough. It really has been tough for a long time, is is still somewhat tough today, but it doesn’t have to be tough tomorrow. Act. Don’t just buy and complain. Do something positive. And we all will benefit from that.

Including Vlad and his small business customers.

The “unofficial repository” remark is especially absurd. There is no Microsoft repository for PHP5 either. None. Microsoft doesn’t provide it at all, whereas Debian does have it under evaluation for inclusion in the next Stable release.

This is the kind of basic error and double standard on your part that is inspiring all those “clueless” comments you are responding to.

So what’s left? That you prefer Microsoft email to Linux-based email? Why not just say that and let that be the end of it?

Or better yet, why not suggest that Microsoft live up to their name and publish Exchange for Linux?

It’s funny (ironic?) you keep telling people they lack understanding of Windows when you obviously lack understanding of Linux. You might not want to admit it, but after reading your article and your comments it is apparent. No offense intended, but you need to realize you really do not have a complete understanding of Linux applications and administration.

Everything you say is simply a joke. You see things from your way and no other, and your lack of Linux & general computing knowledge is glaringly obvious to me.

You’re probably all hopped up on goofballs about Exchange features like online backup - when the fact is, Exchange desperately needs online backup because it’s built on the technical equivalent of a house of cards.

You prefer to pay LOADS of money for a monolithic client attached to a big-$$$ office suite instead of using a simple web interface with no cost. Many of us don’t. But if we wanted to have that sort of client, there’s Kontact and its competitors. There is more than one way to do it - and things you consider features may be considered bandaids and useless add-ons by me.

You’re not just wrong. You’re passing off your opinions as facts and denigrating those of others. That’s arrogance. You clearly haven’t used the software that you claim to know all about - and that’s misleading. Do you wonder that people are cutting your pathetic web discourse apart? If you want to tell lies and mentally masturbate in public, don’t expect people to like it.

Many don’t want or need them… especially if they bring major new security problems… which new Microsoft features *always* seem to do.

I hope to be able to say “you’re welcome” soon. I really have not seen a need for such a piece until today simply because when there is an opportunity for us to save a buck and use Linux we do. Because we work on both Linux and Windows we can easilly tell if a business needs Windows or if they can get buy with Linux.

Now I’ve seen my fair share of clueless people on LUGs over the years but today’s comments on my blog have simply shocked me. Some people have such a limited understanding of the Windows platform and an even more limited understanding that what they are proposing in return are someone elses quick hacks to get the job done.

I’ll have a response shortly, I can’t believe this is so desperately needed.

-Vlad

Thanks in advance!