Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 22:02:36 -0700 From: "Michael L. VanLoon -- HeadCandy.com" <michaelv@HeadCandy.com> To: "Jordan K. Hubbard" <jkh@time.cdrom.com> Cc: freebsd-chat@freebsd.org, dwhite@resnet.uoregon.edu, Domingo Siliceo <dsiliceo@adam.es>, freebsd-current@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Opinions? Message-ID: <199607180502.WAA09210@MindBender.HeadCandy.com> In-Reply-To: Your message of Wed, 17 Jul 96 12:02:32 -0700. <1073.837630152@time.cdrom.com>
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>> learn all the quirkiness of Unix. NT and OS/2 are just better
>> solutions than Unix for many of these people. And NT is a better
>> server product in so many ways than OS/2. Plus, NT is a better
>> business "workstation" OS than Unix because of all the business
>> applications it runs.
>While I don't disagree with any of your major points, and agree that
>NT is *definitely* something we should be afraid (very afraid) of, I
>think you missed one important point about it which Microsoft will be
>the last to mention in their sales hype: Cost.
Actually, corporate cost of ownership is measured in some very strange
ways that can sometimes make some really odd choices the least
expensive. Support costs alone can make something free cost a lot
more than something "expensive". Not speaking of anything specific
here, just in general.
>Task: Create a small ISP using 3 or 4 PCs which will provide web
>service, POP email accounts, News, DNS, dial-in SLIP/PPP and general
>routing. Say we're also projecting between 500-1000 users as our
[...]
I can see we're already going off in different directions here. I was
*not* speaking of a server OS specifically for an ISP. That is a very
small share of the market server OS's are purchased for. The original
poster said he was "still trying to understand why people think they
have to run NT." He also added "there are other options, like FreeBSD
and OS/2," which leads me to believe he indeed intended to include
markets not traditionally Unix-like.
I was speaking of the broader market in general. Corporations that do
a lot of "office work". Where they need to do a lot of application
serving and sharing, print sharing, file sharing, secure access
control to all that, an easy admin model, etc. Maybe deal out a few
dial-in lines for their sales people out in the fields with laptops.
>Now, go price 3 copies of NT Server plus the 1000 user commercial pop
[...]
>off). See the total you're quoted. Suffer heart failure. Be revived
>by paramedics. Send $39.95 from your hospital bed to Walnut Creek
>CDROM for *one* copy of FreeBSD and swear off Microsoft forever. :-)
I agree completely.
A small two or three-man-shop ISP is the very definition of a good
application for FreeBSD or NetBSD. Of course, *we* know that they are
even a great candidate for *any* size ISP. though some are more
skeptical. I couldn't agree more. There isn't a market better suited
for a solid free Unix, IMHO. Especially when they have a networking
code base as excellent as the free BSDs.
There are lots of other related areas where a free Unix, or even a
commercial Unix, might be the best choice. Maybe some kind of network
provider. Maybe a heavy-hit monster database server (although
Microsoft has been getting lots of good press on their database
performance). Maybe a huge simulation engine. Maybe just a monster
compute server.
However, I wasn't talking specifically about ISPs. I agree with you
on ISPs. I was speaking of the entire server OS market as a whole.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael L. VanLoon michaelv@HeadCandy.com
--< Free your mind and your machine -- NetBSD free un*x >--
NetBSD working ports: 386+PC, Mac 68k, Amiga, Atari 68k, HP300, Sun3,
Sun4/4c/4m, DEC MIPS, DEC Alpha, PC532, VAX, MVME68k, arm32...
NetBSD ports in progress: PICA, others...
Roll your own Internet access -- Seattle People's Internet cooperative.
If you're in the Seattle area, ask me how.
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