Post by rbowmanPost by RonBPost by Sn!pePost by RonBThe reason they use Windows is because it runs Microsoft Office (and
businesses are "married" to this crap) and Microsoft's has leverage
with the computer manufacturers. Monopolies have a lot of inertia
that's hard to overcome. But you'll note that, for development
purposes, Microsoft is now including Linux in Windows. There's a
reason for that. And, as software moves to the "rental" phase and more
and more of the applications move to the "Cloud", there will be less
and less necessity to use Windows.
No purchasing manager was ever fired for specifying Microsoft.
I wouldn't bet on it.
Leaving out the cloud I have to agree. Microsoft and the availability of
Microsoft Certified Whatevers makes pointy headed bosses sleep better at
night.
It's the same argument as the one that was made as to why IBM won over
superior platforms in the 1980s. At the very least, anyone who suggests
Microsoft can't be reprimanded because the boss knows that they will be
able to find a ton of people who can use the well-known software as well
as a ton of techs who can troubleshoot it. Even if they can't afford
that staff, there is lots of help online for most problems if they
search for it. That doesn't mean that the operating system is
necessarily better; it simply means that businesses take a lot less risk
in choosing one over the other.
I've always mentioned that I believe that in fields like education and
finance, everyone would be better off using open-source though. For
finance, you need a robust kernel and a filesystem which resists bit-rot
to keep those records. There shouldn't be a need to back up data daily
for fear that your records will corrupt (even though it is still clearly
smart to do so). Similarly, in education, if the public system desires
removing all financial barriers to learning, doesn't it make sense to
run an operating system which can be deployed to even the most
affordable hardware at no performance penalty and prioritize the use of
software which can be downloaded at no charge? I've actually asked this
many times in the past and the answer has always been that maintaining
the Linux servers is more costly and time-consuming to the technicians.
I imagine that it is because the slightest change in configuration
causes chaos across the board.
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CrudeSausage