[ Thanks to Jason
Greenwood for this link. ]
“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…”