[NTLUG:Discuss] Strainge Request, Maybe?

[David Neeley]

MS learns *some* things well. I recently had an interesting conversation 
with the owner of a network security firm, who says his testing of Win2K 
indicates it has vulnerabilities that were not present with NT4. The 
"service release 2" for Win2K has been delayed with the recent discovery of 
another major security hole.

I would be intrigued to hear any "_valid_security" arguments for any 
version whatsoever of Windows. Availability of software that will not run 
on other platforms and/or of support people who are not competent to 
administer other ones compared to relative local unavailability of 
competent Linux/Unix admin people would be determinative in some cases.

As for stability, I agree that Win2K is more stable than past MS releases 
starting with Windows 1.0. It is also a total resource hog, and widespread 
implementation would include substantial upgrades for existing systems (see 
the latest Hardware Compatibility Lists).

For individual workstations, I quite agree that in most cases conversion to 
Linux would be very expensive in terms of training and support costs. The 
costs and difficulties of deploying Windows XP may change that equation 
substantially, but until then it is probably best in most companies to 
continue the existing platforms that are fairly well understood by the 
staff having to use them.

If you happen to include any Macs in your network, Linux as a server wins 
the fight hands down. Linux is the glue that binds together disparate 
systems and makes them play well together!

David


At 01:40 PM 5/7/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>The best case may be the financial one.  Be sure that their proposals
>include recurring licensing costs, new HW costs, etc.
>
>Other good arguements are _valid_ security ones, remote management,
>flexibility, etc.  You need to make the call as to which is best for
>your suits.
>
>MS learns well.  The Windows 2000 series is much more stable than
>either the 9x or NT software.


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