Not much license savings
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| dthacker Aug 11, 2005 5:12 AM EDT |
Windows XP Professional= $179, Xandros = $130, and the Xandros license is for a single PC. It's hard to see the savings in a small business. Yes, there may be additional savings in office suites or other open source products, but they can get eaten up easily in support and training costs. You've changed your dependency from Microsoft to your consultant. This is why Linux on the desktop is such a tough sell. Good review, though. |
| SamShazaam Aug 11, 2005 5:33 AM EDT |
Your comparison is not even close to accurate. You can take that single copy of Xandros and legally install it on as many machines as you wish. This is absolutely not true of Windows. The Windows alternative is only an operating system. There is no office suite, no accounting programs and no database. You need to pay a great deal extra for those programs. Xandros, as with other open source, gives you all of this for free. In fact, you get several office suites. |
| dinotrac Aug 11, 2005 5:42 AM EDT |
it's clear that dthacker has not tried applying open-source savings to the real world, or contemplating the business freedom that it carries. Never mind that XP lets you do...nothing. Open Source allows you to run your business based on business needs, not configured because of license requirements. OSS has a multiplier effect that spreads into hardware decisions, upgrade intervals/costs, etc. XP has, well, XP. |
| dthacker Aug 11, 2005 5:43 AM EDT |
SS, please follow the license link at the end of the article. Here are two relevant excerpts: License Xandros Desktop OS Version 3 Business Edition CAREFULLY READ THIS END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT ("EULA") BEFORE USING THIS PRODUCT. BREAKING THE SEALS, INSTALLING, OR OTHERWISE USING THIS PRODUCT INDICATES ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT THIS LICENSE HAS BEEN READ AND BINDS COMPLIANCE TO THE TERMS. 1. LICENSE: A. Xandros Desktop ("Software Product") is a modular operating system made up of individual software components that were created by various individuals and entities ("Software Programs"). The End User may install the Software Product on unlimited home computers of his or hers for non-commercial use and one commercial use computer ....... C. In addition to the freely distributable Software Programs, some versions of Xandros Desktop may also include certain Software Programs that are not distributed under the terms of the GPL or similar licenses that permit modification and redistribution. Generally, each of these Software Programs is distributed under the terms of a license agreement that grants the licensed user to install each of the Software Programs on a single computer for the user's own individual use. Copying (other than for archival purposes), redistribution, reverse engineering, decompiling and/or modification of these Software Programs is prohibited. Any violation by the user of the applicable license terms shall immediately terminate the license to use the Software Program. I do not see the ability to copy to as many machines of a commercial company as I wish. I've already answered your point about the office suite. Training and support costs can consume savings quickly. You may have a point on the major databases (MySQL, Postgres, Firebird) as an alternative to MS-SQL, but there are costs for that changeover as well. So besides the fact that it's not microsoft, what's so great about Xandros? I can't take "it's not Microsoft" and put that in the bank. Dave |
| dthacker Aug 11, 2005 5:48 AM EDT |
Dino, You may have a point. I think I'm going to make up a small business, and do a cost comparison. Then I'll post it here, and we can poke holes in it. I'm not a Windows fan, but I don't see Linux making the grade in a small business yet. The cost of untraining Windows users is just too high. |
| PaulFerris Aug 11, 2005 7:56 AM EDT |
dthacker: what about small businesses where the application is just being written? Small business turn around (read: creation and destruction) is a lot higher than larger businesses, so keep that in mind in your comparision. Having to train users on either is (IMHO) fairly similar if it's mainly one app being implemented. --FeriCyde PS: Dino does indeed have at least two points -- they're on his head. He usually wears a small beanie to cover them, but we can all spot them easily from here so there's no need to point them out... |
| dinotrac Aug 11, 2005 9:33 AM EDT |
dthacker -- There is a subtle but significant problem in comparing costs of Open Source and proprietary solutions, one that may not be avoidable. It's this: We love to compare apples to apples. Makes sense, is intuitively appealing. The thing is, it's not always clear what constitutes an apple. For example, in comparing, say, a Microsoft solution, it's tempting to spec identical hardware, and as nearly identical a complement of software as can be arranged, given the different universes. Trouble is, part of the power, competitive advantage, and cost-savings come from the freedom to set yourself up according to your business needs. BTW: competitive advantage and cost-savings are not the same thing. Related, yes. Same, no. For example, consider a case where: The cost and license hoops of a proprietary solution might lead you to buy relatively few powerful, highly redundant, and expensive special-purpose servers. Your business, however, will be better served (for its purposes) by a larger array of cheap boxes that allows you always to have one unused box ready to plug into the mix. To have apples in this case, you would need the optimally configured system(s) permitted by your budget/license constraints for each universe. They might not look very much alike at all. |
| dthacker Aug 11, 2005 12:43 PM EDT |
Dino,
Interesting point. It seems to me that the businesses that you're describing are a bit more complex than the ones I was intending to model. I'm very motivated to find ways to get businesses to adopt GNU/Linux and open-source solutions, and I'm looking forward to your comments on my scenarios. Dave |
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