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Yankee Group Slams Linux 'Extremists'
AvatarofVirgo wrote in to mention an article running on ZDNet in which the consulting firm The Yankee Group goes after folks in the Linux community who have been questioning their objectivity. From the article: "Laura DiDio, an analyst at the Yankee Group who has been at the receiving end of much of the criticism from Linux advocates, claimed the radical elements of the community could damage the reputation of open source software."
The problem is that you can't have a discussion on "why is X better than Y" without mentioning that there's stuff Y cannot do. I don't understand how you can have a conversation with someone on why to switch from IE to Firefox, for example, without mentioning that there's things firefox does that IE does not.
If one person says "X is better than Y" and someone else says "Y is bad compared to X" they are both saying the exact same thing, but they seem different on a purely emotional (read: bullshit) level. I don't subscribe to the notion that sugar-coating what you say like that actually changes anything signifigant about your message.
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
And for proof of that, check out her video here. Now, Laura, tell us again how objective you are again. (I could use a good laugh.)
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The article is a little misleading. It seems to imply that Didio was first harrassed by zealous linux supporters with her TCO survey.
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She doesn't mention her quick involvement in the SCO case, where she was one of the first and only Analysts to sign the SCO NDA and claim publically they had a solid case. She wasn't all to forthcoming to her 15 year friendship with everyone's fav marketing vp, Black Stowell either.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/06/09/10550
Quickly after that initial report she produced a report that critized Linux vendors for failing to indemnify customers, the exact same line Darl McBride was telling.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/31252.html
Then she produces a TCO report on Linux vrs Windows development that uses BEA and Oracle on the Linux side vrs IIS and SQL2000 on the MS side and reports MS is much cheaper then the linux solution. Which i belive is the one the article mentions.
So to say Didio was unfairly attacked because she objectively came out with reports that critize linux is quite wrong. She was questioned because of her seemingly permament bias against Linux.
If the source of this is not monetary, I'd hate to know what some Linux developer did to her to make it so Personal.
Well, no. Your statement "IDEs...exist on Linux which...are far better than Visual Studio" is a subjective statement, backed up with nothing. That is a biased statement, or a partisan one if you prefer, and you would need facts and figures to back it up.
Cheers,
Ian
Windows is easy to setup if everything goes right. If it doesn't, you need to have some skillz or know someone who does. One example that springs quickly to mind (because I've just spent a great deal of time wrestling with it) is to try and install Windows to a SATA (Serial ATA) hard drive. Windows generally doesn't recognize SATA controllers without loading a driver, and sometimes it will load and use the driver to start the install, then fail to reload the driver on boot-up and hang. When something like that happens, Windows isn't so easy to install anymore.
The mainstream Linux distros are pretty much the same as Windows. SuSE, Novell Desktop, Mandrake, Red Hat, etc are all as easy to install as Windows now. That wasn't true a couple of years ago. And like Windows, if things go wrong, you need to know what you're doing to get them working.
I too run Gentoo but it's a geeks distro and isn't as easy to setup as the more mainstream distros.
The package selection you pointed out is primarly because Linux tends to install a lot of apps along with the OS. Sure, Windows may not ask you about packages but when you're done, you don't have Office and a whole host of other software installed either. By the time you go through the install process for all of the additional software, I don't think Windows is much easier.
I'm not going to argue that Linux is easier, but it's hardly more difficult either in the mainstream distros.
"The legitimate powers of government extend only to such acts as are injurious to others." Thomas Jefferson.
Certainly. I got it from an AC post that was first modded down as a troll. But commentary on it is "+4 interesting"? Mods...WTF?
More or less the same way competent Windows users do. Netstat, tripwire, checkrootkit, etc.
Exploits for Linux aren't completely unheard of, just harder to findActually, it's rather easy to detect a compromised Linux system, using only the tools that virtually every distro comes with "out of the box". Sure, you have to learn to use those tools, but I'm sure you weren't born knowing how to secure a Windows system.
I get a little tired of Windows users saying "Linux is hard to use" when what they really mean is "It doesn't work like the system I know how to use and I'm too damn lazy to learn another", conveniently forgeting how long it took them to learn Windows in the first place.
Most of the people I've met who didn't like Linux tell me the same thing. "I tried (insert long since obsolete version of redhat, usually 4 or 5 point something) for a couple days and didn't like it." Give it a chance - it'll take a few weeks of heavy use before you break out of the Windows mindset. Until you can break out of the Windows habits you'll never be able to appreciate the power and flexibility of Linux, and for Pete's sake download a RECENT distro. Comparing Redhat 5 to Win XP simply isn't fair. Comparing it to Windows 3.2, maybe.
And it always amazes me how many Windows powerusers think nothing of reformating and throwing on a fresh install every six months just to "keep things fast" because the registry gets too much crap in it. Any website you visit can write to the registry unless you've installed a third party blocker like Finjan's Surfin Guard Pro. Your Antivirus/firewall/antispyware combo probably isn't preventing it - very few antispyware apps (and no firewalls or AVs that I'm aware of) will prevent registry writes. What a joke. If you don't believe me - get Surfinguard and watch the warnings pop up. Since people learned how to delete cookies many sites now use the registry to keep permanant tabs on you (and not just pr0n sites, either - CNN used to, among others).
TommyOpen Source for Open Minds
One of the quotes that helped Laura earn the name DiDiot:
"Within the open source community, there are a large percentage of tinkers and 'ankle biters' who are trying their hand at hacking. Some are even communicating with each other. So it only takes one or two of these groups sharing information to be able to pull something off. When you have this type of passion, it's hard to fight because these people are like virtual suicide car bombers."
If you can't stand the heat Laura, don't keep throwing fuel on the fire.
Even though Billy boy over there says that you can't get burned by being his shill, you might get an unpleasant surprise...
Brielle