[mdlug] A big opportunity for Linux?

[Dave Arbogast]

>Sure, and "cost effective" means allot more than upfront cost.  Since
>most businesses pay a pittance for desktop machines, let alone the
>software on them,  the business case for LINUX is a pretty hard sell.
>

Errrr, I take it you have never actually see a M$ Enterprise support 
agreement and the eight figure ransom big business pays for the real 
cost of these "cheep" desktops. If they don't pay, they risk the very 
real probability that malware will take down their business. Then, 
there's the cheeper cost of AV and infection mitigation for the user 
induced events.

AND, if they have an envirornment where a vedor sells them a WIN OS 
embeded device (MF copier, manufacturing machinery, appliance, etc) they 
are at real mercy of the desktop devicing causing interruption of their 
core business when the cheep desktops cause faults - maybe infections - 
of these "turn key" opperations.  Most of these embeded devices never 
get patched and the vendor usually tells the client they can't touch the 
OS. I have seen all of this. It is costing business multi-billions to 
mitigate the risks and clean up after this so call "cheep OS". 

I thought eveyone knows M$ does not make the bulk of their $$$ from 
selling the actual software anymore....

-dave