Toronto Globe & Mail: Case for Linux is a Cultural One–Thus Far

“One doesn’t think of Microsoft as a cultural force, yet the
behemoth has figured in two major cultural clashes. The first
pitted Macintosh against Windows loyalists; the second is a
confrontation between Linux and Windows supporters. The first was
limited to individuals; the second is being played out primarily in
corporate life.

“Linux fans are generating a lot of noise by pressing IT
departments for the expanded use of the open-source system to
replace existing server software, much of it made by Microsoft. The
Linux crowd knows it will not prevail easily; corporations are
still motivated by a business climate in which prudence, meaning
conservative decision-making, is prized over revolutionary
thinking, as in restructuring an entire server architecture.

“The pro-Linux lobby argues that the open-source system is cheap
(or even free), it has a much better track record in security and
anti-virus protection, it is exquisitely configurable, it is much
more stable and it does not require high-end processors to run
it.

“These are compelling arguments, and sweet music to IT managers
under tremendous pressure to cut costs. But IT’s reasons for not
dropping everything and switching to Linux are just as
compelling…”

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