Expose the eight myths of Linux

Article Title: exposes eight myths about Linux. Linux is a technology channel of the IT lab in China. Includes basic categories such as desktop applications, Linux system management, kernel research, embedded systems, and open source.
How to further develop desktop computers is the information that many CIOs and executors expect. The promotion of using Linux on a desktop computer is mainly reflected in eight aspects. Enterprises must objectively understand the advantages of using Linux on a desktop computer, and consider whether it is compatible with the enterprise's internal infrastructure.
　　
A massive Linux Advertisement
Pay attention to the commercial commitment made in the Linux advertisement promotion. People may believe that Linux can run on old hardware and users do not need to consider upgrading, the free use of Linux licenses does not cause any problems at work. Although Linux has many attributes that make it an outstanding operating system and can provide a viable option for some types of applications and users, the benefits of using Linux on a desktop are proven to be mythical in some aspects. Enterprises must have an objective understanding of the reality to make the right decisions for their desktop users.
　　
This article does not deny the use of Linux on a desktop. Linux is suitable for the majority of users and needs to be supported by the relevant environment, including the user type and the architecture of the applications used by the users. The problem is that there are some unrealistic expectations in some exaggerated advertising campaigns. Enterprises must understand the real benefits of Linux to make full use of it.
　　
The following eight problems have proved to be an unrealistic myth.
　　
1. Because StarOffice and OpenOffice.org can replace Microsoft Office, the use of Linux will be less expensive than the use of Windows.
This Is An unobjective and incorrect view, which transfers people's understanding of the main issues. Indeed, StarOffice and OpenOffice.org are good luck in the Windows operating system environment. If enterprises believe that replacing Microsoft Office with StarOffice and OpenOffice.org can save a lot of money, they can continue to use the existing Windows version, instead of spending a lot of money porting all other applications to a new platform. Determine whether to replace the office toolkit and consider the problem of replacing the customer's operating system separately. Gartner created an automatic office migration cost model to help enterprises consider office migration issues.
　　
2. Use Linux for free
Supported Linux versions are not free of charge. The so-called free (free copy and distribution) refers to the customer version of Linux and the Linux version that can be downloaded from the Web. Enterprises must rely on the support of open source code groups to use these distributed versions. This may not be a bad thing, as companies in some remote areas point out that open source support may be less costly than to pay for support provided to suppliers. However, when enterprises require Linux vendors to provide support for their customers' operating systems, they must also pay fees. The total amount of these payments is less than the cost of using Windows licenses and support services, but you must understand that Linux usage is not zero.
　　
3. No mandatory upgrade requirements
Many companies complain that Microsoft forces them to upgrade to adapt to the new Windows version. However, this type of force varies greatly when Linux is used. Microsoft provides full support for its new customer's operating system for up to five years, after which it also provides support for a specific fee for the next two years. However, when Microsoft ends a service of a specific version of Windows, most third-party application vendors will not support running new versions of their applications on older versions of Windows.
　　
Linux vendors provide service support for their customer versions (and free distributions) for up to two years. Although Red Hat and SuSE's Server Enterprise Edition have received support services from vendors for up to five years, vendors do not make the same commitment to using Linux on desktops. Gartner predicts that the Linux support period may reach five years (0.8 probability) in the future ).
The focus of the problem is not that suppliers provide shorter support times than Microsoft, but that Linux vendors and independent software vendors realize that they cannot get support for their own products in each version of Linux. Therefore, Linux will also face the problem of outdated versions.
　　
Although the support from open source code groups always exists, developers are not more eager to get new code than the five-year old. Application Software developers also target the updated operating system version for developing new products, and the developed products only support a limited number of Linux versions. Gartner believes that, just as Windows users feel that they must upgrade to adapt to the new version of Windows, Linux users will also be forced to migrate to the updated version of Linux.
　　
Similarly, Microsoft licenses also have some impractical problems. When Microsoft announced its 6.0 license, although it ruled out the need to upgrade most products, it also required users to pay for the 90-day use of the product, or they want to officially purchase the product again when they want to upgrade. This license is still available for Windows users. In fact, enterprises do not need to purchase Upgrade versions for users to promise a software maintenance contract within a specific period of time. They can purchase a Windows Professional version upgrade product at any time for any user, and they only need to spend $.
　　
4. Linux requires less Management Work
Enterprises expect to thoroughly streamline management institutions by switching to Linux (assuming the same policies and tools are used. Gartner believes that to achieve significant organizational streamlining, it is not just a simple conversion of an operating system, but a corresponding adjustment to its policies and consideration of the implementation level of management tools.
　　
A Linux product customer pointed out that the main cost advantage of Linux on servers is that hardware and operating systems are relatively low (compared with Unix ). However, the labor costs for Unix or Linux servers are basically the same.
　　
Compared with current stable Windows versions, such as Windows 2000 and Windows XP, desktops are unlikely to differ significantly in many scenarios. Therefore, the execution of Linux may be more stable than that of Windows 9x. However, migrating Windows 9x users to Windows XP can also improve their stability and reduce the migration cost (the cost depends on the replacement cost of the application ).
　　
In terms of a software prospect, users often need some support for microconfiguration of their systems. The reason may be that a new application added by the user conflicts with other applications or starts a virus.
　　
Gartner believes that Linux surpasses Windows to a certain extent, mainly due to three reasons:
　　
　　
There are few viruses targeting Linux desktops.
　　
There are very few problems caused by application conflicts. Although Windows 2000 and Windows XP have a well-known side-by-side dynamic connection library technology to reduce application conflicts, many IVS do not yet support this technology, at the same time, all the benefits provided by this technology do not fully support many inherited software. Like Windows, the Linux technical manual can help reduce possible program conflicts, such as Linux Standard Base. In addition, because there are only a small number of inherited software, linux desktop software is more likely to avoid conflicts between applications.
　　
Windows Registry can help the system manage Windows applications, but Registry management is too abstract and difficult to fix. Because Linux is a file-based operating system, administrators can easily repair application faults.
A noteworthy problem in Linux is the subordination, especially for users in an open environment (users have a root password ). Although the downloading management of major Linux distribution products ensures proper subordination, the lack of properly managed software downloads may lead to subordination issues.
5. By using management tools, the total cost of ownership of Linux is lower than that of Windows.
Management tools have been used in Windows for many years. Many management tools are developed and can be effectively applied when appropriate policies, processing procedures and skills are supported. Many enterprises no longer manage their Windows application environments, not because they lack an effective management tool. The causes of Windows environment management failure are as follows:
　　
　　
There are too many complexities in the Windows environment (too many application combinations, and too many types of hardware and software)
　　
Companies do not have sufficient policies or standards to limit the types of hardware and software
　　
Cultural or political influences impede enterprises from effectively restricting their types
Gartner does not consider that even if the reason why companies cannot properly manage Windows desktops is influenced by culture or policy, rather than technology: due to cultural or policy changes, enterprises are migrated to Linux.
In Windows, you can choose whether to install various applications or make other changes to the desktop. However, because the inherited application may be an incorrect behavior and is written to the registry or disk, users cannot access it. Therefore, during system configuration in your own way, operations that inherit applications often fail. It is precisely because Linux does not require administrator authorization to run inherited applications, and most desktop applications can run successfully. Therefore, enterprises seldom need to conduct access investigation on the core of the system due to technical issues.
　　
In Windows, enterprises use Group Policy objects (GPO) to operate specific desktop parts. in a short period of time, there may still be some problems when enterprises introduce this technology into Linux, at the same time, we must consider that this may change the total cost of ownership.
　　
6. Linux applications will be cheap or free of charge
Linux provides many free and open source applications. But are these applications required by enterprises? Gartner never heard that the open source code campaign will replace ERP (Enterprise Resource Plan) or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems, and most vendors charge Linux customers not less than Windows customers. Compared with features provided by Windows, StarOffice and OpenOffice.org try to provide users with adequate product features and performance at a lower price. In addition, StarOffice and OpenOffice.org can be used in Windows without being forced to migrate to Linux for any reason. In addition, it should be recognized that this trend does not occur in the entire field of software use by enterprises. When migrating data to Linux, enterprises need to investigate and analyze all their software stacks to determine whether they have made the right choices and consider the overall cost savings.
　　
7. If Linux is used, the hardware can be used for a longer period of time, or the old hardware can be reused.
Although a PC that has been in use for three or four years cannot be able to run Windows XP and Office XP, it may run Linux and StarOffice. However, enterprises must make extra budgets to maintain the old PC.
　　
　　
If you want to purchase a new PC from Linux for a period of 6 to 8 years, you must upgrade the operating system at least once. Although the Linux upgrade license fee may be lower than the Windows upgrade license fee, this fee always exists and labor costs need to be taken into account.
　　
The diversity of types always brings headaches to enterprises. For example, when enterprises consider for their different software stacks