Rumors Archive

Resisting Open-Sourcery

Submitted by Ken Walker 2003-08-13 Rumors 84 Comments

Analyst Rob Enderle has written what is sure to be a controversial article explining his conversion from an open source proponent to a disillusioned opponent. His reasons don't focus on technical merits, but on side issues such as the fanatical intolerance for dissent and ignorance in Linux forums (making it hard to get help sometimes) and the fact that when your boss expects everything to be free it makes it harder to exceed expectations. Food for thought, but he might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Linux Ranks No2 on Microsoft Risk List; Munich Linux to Run VMWare

Submitted by N. James & D. Gojsevic 2003-07-20 Rumors 70 Comments

In a teleconference to go over the Redmond, Wash.-based developer's fourth quarter and fiscal 2003 results on Thursday, CFO John Connors detailed the five biggest risks to his company's business. "The general economic environment is risk and driver No. 1," he said. "Linux and non-commercial software is risk No. 2." Elsewhere, Gartner says that 80% of the Linux desktops to be deployed in Munich, will be also running VMWare and Windows because of some applications.

Analysis: x86 Vs PPC

Guest post by Nicholas Blachford 2003-07-09 Rumors 221 Comments

This article started life when I was asked to write a comparison of x86 and PowerPC CPUs for work. We produce PowerPC based systems and are often asked why we use PowerPC CPUs instead of x86 so a comparison is rather useful. While I have had an interest in CPUs for quite some time but I have never explored this issue in any detail so writing the document proved an interesting exercise. I thought my conclusions would be of interest to OSNews readers so I've done more research and written this new, rather more detailed article. This article is concerned with the technical differences between the families not the market differences.

Poll: Let’s Evaluate Open Source’s Jewels

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-30 Rumors 131 Comments

Thursday here, a slow evening. Time for a new poll. This poll might require you to think a bit extra: it asks you to vote not for your favorite application, but which OSS application, in your opinion, has achieved high standards, performance, features and ease of use when compared to the best of breed of the closed source world. Read more for more explanation and voting.

Microsoft Loses City of Munich Deal to Linux

Submitted by michael 2003-05-28 Rumors 67 Comments

In what is being called "one of the largest desktop migrations to Linux ever seen", Microsoft seems to have lost a major account worth "tens of millions of euros" when the city of Munich said on Wednesday it would switch 14,000 computers from Microsoft's Windows operating system to Linux.

Poll: Vote for your Favorite File Manager

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-21 Rumors 196 Comments

So, which file manager is the best across many OSes? Click more and cast your vote!

Perspective: Windows vs. Mac OS X

Submitted by Andy Satori 2003-05-20 Rumors 63 Comments

Yet another head to head review, this time from the perspective of a developer that's spent 10+ years with Windows, "who views the Mac zealotry with a wary eye", as he says. The same author also wrote "On Switching to the Mac" editorial in the past.

Why OSX Panther May Tear Up Windows Longhorn

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-16 Rumors 144 Comments

Who will emerge as the king of the desktop OS jungle: Apple's Panther or Microsoft's Longhorn? Read the article at Microsoft-Watch.

Editorial: Windows or OS X?

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-08 Rumors 93 Comments

"It?s been a while since we had a discussion about Windows & Mac users hasn?t it? Ok well I guess it hasn?t as every Mac or Windows news site under the sun seems to be running some sort of ?Mine is better than yours? argument each day. I guess the question still remains, which one is best? Or is there even a ?best OS? out there?" Read Byron Hinson's editorial. Update: Second part, here.

J2EE and .NET Servers Weigh In

Eugenia Loli 2003-05-02 Rumors 19 Comments

The verbal punches tossed in the clash between Java and .NET may never end -- but for now it seems that the app servers supporting these software environments both have a place. Evidence suggests that most large companies will support both Java and .NET. The 'battle,' in reality, falls short of the hype. The scene is almost like that in a heavyweight prizefight, where the weigh-in holds more terror than the fight itself. Read the rest of the article at ADTMag.

Head to Head: SuSE 8.2 Pro Vs Red Hat Linux 9 in Desktop Usage

Guest post by Aki Kolehmainen 2003-04-29 Rumors 88 Comments

This is a desktop comparison of Red Hat Linux 9 and SuSE 8.2 Professional Edition. We have used Red Hat Linux 8 for all our work since last fall, and installed version 9 as soon as it became available. However, we have not been fully content with Red Hat, so we gave SuSE 8.2 a try when it became available this month.

Sun, Apple Ignite New Desktop Skirmish …

Eugenia Loli 2003-04-08 Rumors 26 Comments

"... with Microsoft Corp. While it's doubtful that either company will be able to unseat Windows' monopoly status in the PC market, you've got to admire their pluck. Sun Microsystems Inc.'s attack on Microsoft's desktop fortress is called Project Mad Hatter and uses Linux combined with StarOffice and other open-source goodies. Although most of the attention has been given to Sun's embrace of Linux and open source, the real story is about hardware." Read the article at ComputerWorld.

Linux Loved, but Windows Wins

Eugenia Loli 2003-03-24 Rumors 37 Comments

"Of all the topics I've disemboweled in this space in the last year, the question of moving to Linux is the hottest. It seems almost all of you have a leaning toward Linux. But Staight's point is important. The existence of a constellation of issues, rather than one or two dominant ones, was cited by perhaps 80% of those who wrote to me saying they aren't migrating." Read the article at IDG.

Microsoft vs. Linux: The Changing Nature of Competition

Eugenia Loli 2003-03-18 Rumors 38 Comments

"Enterprises will see major changes in Microsoft’s competitive strategy as Linux and other open-source software continue to erode Microsoft's traditional sources of income. Don't expect Microsoft's bundling strategies to continue as before, and don't expect it to support Linux before 2006 at least -- if ever." Read the analysis on TechUpdate.

Debunking the Linux-Windows Market-Share Myth

Submitted by Nathan Kelley 2003-03-16 Rumors 43 Comments

"There are dozens of reasons why people have underestimated how quickly Linux has been grabbing Windows' market share. Windows starts out with a false boost and maintains its illusory market share even as it gets replaced by Linux. In 2004, don't be surprised when Linux overtakes Windows to become the main focus for developers." Read the editorial at LinuxWorld.

Which is your Favorite BSD-based OS?

Eugenia Loli 2003-03-09 Rumors 59 Comments

Here is a poll for you this Sunday, you can vote for your favorite BSD-based OS.

KDE 3.1 vs. GNOME 2.2, Part II

Guest post by Kevin Adams 2003-03-01 Rumors 78 Comments

"KDE is delivering a better version of what GNOME's goal has apparently morphed into: becoming a great component framework that you can write to in multiple languages. Nicholas Petreley rebuffs the common GNOME battle slogans and explains why the window-manager's name needs reworking." Read the article at LinuxWorld. Commentary Update by Eugenia: The author of that article advocates that Gnome is... lame, but I would just say that these wars "gnome vs kde" are the lame ones.

A Strategic Comparison of Windows vs. Unix, Version 2.0

Eugenia Loli 2003-02-27 Rumors 24 Comments

Murphy's October 2001 TCO analysis generated much reader comment. In this article, the first installment in a two-part series, he revisits the Linux-versus-Windows decision for the faculty of a small college or university.

J2EE vs .NET: Levelling the Playing Field

Eugenia Loli 2003-02-21 Rumors 33 Comments

"It’s one of those rare situations where Microsoft is David, not Goliath; .NET is a displacement ploy targeted squarely against Java and J2EE, which has gained significant momentum amongst customers since its debut. As in J2EE, .NET applications go through a number of stages between source code and application. These stages are designed to liberate the source code from dependencies on the underlying software platform, although in .NET’s case there are many operating system hooks available when necessary." Read the article at ZDNews.

A Brief Comparison of KDE 3.1 and GNOME 2.2

Eugenia Loli 2003-02-21 Rumors 61 Comments

Nicholas Petreley installs and compares the two most popular desktop environments for Linux & other Unixes. His recommendation? It depends... Update: OSNews reader Cesar Cardoso just sent us this: "Why not a UI-fight between Havoc and Mosfet?" This is Mosfet's rebuttal article answering to Havoc Pennington's article, while the first part is here.