Free Windows Help Tutorials sponsored by inkjet printer cartridges dot org /title> <META HTTP-EQUIV="imagetoolbar" CONTENT="no"> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; CHARSET=ISO 8859-1"> <META name="description" Content="Hundreds of downloadable Windows help tutorials, articles and how-to guides sponsored by inkjet printer cartridges dot org."><style type="text/css">  </style> </head> <body bgcolor=#999999 vlink=blue link=blue> <span name = "INTRA" class="pg" style="top:0px; left:5px; width:714px; height:1010px"></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:0px; left:5px; height:1010px; width:714px' class='img'> <img src="pg0001im.png" height = "1010 width = "714" border="0"> </span> <span class='nav' style='left: 10px; top: 10px'><pre></pre></span><span name = "INTRA" style='top:108px; left:62px' class="ft3"><pre><font face='Arial'>Linux On The Desktop?</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:222px; left:62px' class="ft5"><pre><font face='Arial'><i>Could</i> <i>you</i> <i>really</i> <i>use</i> <i>Linux</i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:243px; left:62px' class="ft5"><pre><font face='Arial'><i>as</i> <i>a</i> <i>desktop</i> <i>OS</i> <i>instead</i> <i>of</i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:219px; left:247px' class="ft0"><pre><font face='Arial'><b>D</b></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:222px; left:287px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>oes Microsoft have a stranglehold on your IT strategy? Does part of your</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:234px; left:287px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>budgeting and planning effort involve trying to second guess the software</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:247px; left:287px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>giant and its plans? Software licenses account for an increasing part of most</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:260px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>corporate IT budgets and this situation isn't likely to change at least, not while you</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:263px; left:62px' class="ft5"><pre><font face='Arial'><i>Windows?</i> <i>What</i> <i>would</i> <i>it</i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:272px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>use Microsoft products.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:284px; left:62px' class="ft5"><pre><font face='Arial'><i>look</i> <i>and</i> <i>feel</i> <i>like?</i> <i>And</i> <i>are</i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:293px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Falling growth in PC sales and a reluctance by users to upgrade their software has</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:304px; left:62px' class="ft5"><pre><font face='Arial'><i>Linux</i> <i>office</i> <i>suites</i> <i>good</i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:306px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>meant that cash isn't flowing into Microsoft HQ the way it used to. In response, the</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:318px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>company is tightening its grip on users. There's increasing pressure to upgrade as</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:325px; left:62px' class="ft5"><pre><font face='Arial'><i>enough</i> <i>to</i> <i>compete</i> <i>with</i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:331px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>support is withdrawn for older versions of products. Corporate customers are</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:344px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>encouraged to enter into Enterprise Agreements, under which they pay an annual</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:345px; left:62px' class="ft5"><pre><font face='Arial'><i>Microsoft</i> <i>Office?</i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:356px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>fee for the right to use the latest versions of all licensed products. This may look</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:369px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>good at first sight, but it's designed to ensure a steady income for Microsoft,</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:377px; left:62px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>By Julian Moss</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:382px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>unaffected by upgrade cycles. By signing up to it you'll lose the chance to save</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:394px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>money in the future by skipping an upgrade to a product.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:415px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>If you don't wish to go down the enterprise licensing route you're likely to face</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:427px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>tighter controls on product licenses, such as the product activation technology being</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:440px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>used for Windows XP and Office XP. Microsoft claims that product activation will</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:453px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>have little practical impact on corporate customers but the truth remains to be seen.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:466px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>And although copy protection should allow Microsoft to cut prices of its products</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:478px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>as revenue rises, there's little evidence that it is willing to do so. Whether it involves</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:491px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>you in extra time and trouble or not, there's little you can do if you don't like it.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:504px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Microsoft has you where it wants you, and it knows it.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:530px; left:247px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>Want</b></i> <i><b>To</b></i> <i><b>Break</b></i> <i><b>Free?</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:553px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>The implications of all this have made some people start to wonder if there is a way</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:565px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>to break free of Microsoft's grip. There is, but it's a step that will take courage.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:578px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>According to a recent IDC report, Microsoft now owns 96% of the desktop market.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:591px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Switching away will make you part of a tiny minority. If saving money is the aim,</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:603px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>the only real alternative is Linux, which is on just 1.5% of desktops, IDC claims. The</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:616px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Linux operating system and many of the applications that run under it offer zero</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:629px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>licensing costs and a license agreement that puts the user back in control. This</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:641px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>certainly looks attractive. But the primary function of IT systems is to enable people</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:654px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>to do work. Is Linux really a practical choice for the real world office desktop? Can</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:667px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>your users really use a freeware Linux desktop to do what they currently do under</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:679px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Windows and Office?</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:706px; left:247px' class="ft2"><pre><font face='Arial'><i><b>Linux</b></i></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:728px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>Two to three years ago, Linux was on a roll. It was big in the server market, and still</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:741px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>is, but many pundits were predicting that it would soon be ready for the desktop</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:754px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>too. Investors flocked to buy shares in newly floated Linux companies. Today it's a</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:766px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>different picture. The failure of desktop tools company Eazel and troubles at Loki</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:779px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>(a developer of Linux games) suggest that the vision of Linux as a future desktop</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:792px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>OS for the masses may have been just a mirage. Attendance at LinuxWorld in</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:804px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>September 2001 was down on last year, and the atmosphere of excitement and</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:817px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>optimism of previous years was also missing.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:838px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>No one could pretend that these are good signs. But reports of the death of Linux</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:850px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>have been greatly exaggerated. The operating system itself has never been in better</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:863px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>health. It's getting easier to install and configure, and its graphical desktop environ </font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:876px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>ments are more stable and user friendly than ever. And there is a good choice of</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:888px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>office applications for the platform. Technically, Linux has never been so well placed</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:901px; left:247px' class="ft1"><pre><font face='Arial'>to take the place of Windows on the end user desktop.</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:950px; left:52px' class="ft4"><pre><font face='Helvetica'>Update 157:December 2001</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:943px; left:264px' class="ft6"><pre><font face='Arial'><b>PC</b> <b>Support</b> <b>Advisor</b></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:950px; left:612px' class="ft4"><pre><font face='Helvetica'>File: B1225.1</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:962px; left:52px' class="ft4"><pre><font face='Helvetica'>page 3</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:962px; left:474px' class="ft4"><pre><font face='Helvetica'>Buying and Evaluating:Operating Systems</font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:967px; left:285px' class="ft7"><pre><font face='Helvetica'><b>www.pcsupportadvisor.com</b></font></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" class='nav' style='left: 357px; top: 1010px'><pre>Next page <a href='page0002.htm'>></a></pre></span> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:1050px; left:50px' class="ft4"><pre><b><font color="#FF0000" size="3" face="Arial">New!</font><font color="#FF0000" size="3" face="Arial Narrow"> </font><font size="2" face="Arial">The best sites for quality <a href="http://www.inkjet-printer-cartridges.org">inkjet printer cartridges</a> and the best sites for <a href="http://www.cheap-inkjet-cartridges.com">cheap inkjet cartridges</a></font></b></pre></span></body> <span name = "INTRA" style='top:1100px; left:300px' class="ft4"><pre><b><font color="#FF0000" size="3" face="Arial"><a href="../index.html">Windows Help Desk Home</a> </font></b></pre></span></body></html>