Open Source OS vs Windows, A Cost Comparison
I was browsing tech articles today and ran across this comparison of Red Hat, Canonical [Ubuntu], and Windows. Now, before I begin on this brief but ever so relevant diatribe, let me preface my rant with the fact that I have been a regular user of various Linux flavors (Mandrake, Red Hat, Ubuntu, SUSE, Fedora, etc.) since the late 1990’s, so though I am not a system administrator, I have a fair amount of Linux administration experience.
Over the past few years, when approached with the question of which OS one should run on their corporate network, I unwaveringly respond, “Windows XP” [of course]. The principle argument being that most small businesses cannot afford a full-time system administrator to administer a non-Windows network. It is nice to now have some numbers to support my argument. Keep in mind, I do not state one way or the other which OS is more secure, reliable, or robust. I only mention this for the simple fact that running a Windows based network, over the long run, will almost always be more affordable.