"What really are the most fundamental differences between Windows variants like 2003/XP and Unix variants like Linux?
"From a practical perspective, cost is an obvious differentiator, as are access to source and the ability to run outside the Intel processor environment. But it's possible to argue that those differences are neither real nor important. For example, cost is usually important in business only if the products being compared are otherwise very similar. Some companies have negotiated access to Windows source, and NT 4.0 Server on Alpha was, until quite recently, the fastest way to run any Microsoft OS.
"To get beyond superficialities like these, we must look at the fundamental functions of a modern business-oriented operating system and ask how these are implemented by the two groups: Microsoft and the Unix community. Conceptually, all major business-oriented operating systems, including Linux and Windows 2003/XP, are pretty similar because they use similar hardware to achieve similar goals..."
