Wired Q: Embedded NT

Peter Galbavy peter at wonderland.org
Mon May 25 08:47:11 UTC 1998


Leigh Porter wrote:
> I have to ask WHY!? Surly it would be far nicer to download the Linux
> source from somewhere since it already has pretty decent networking code
> and use that?
> 
> What is the point of putting NT on anything but, well, but somebody's
> workstation or a server at a push? We already have tons of memory in our
> routers without having to add any more ;-)

The reason is simple. While we sit here bitching about this "minor"
issue and that "minor" issue, like the state of the net, the S&M
(Sales and Marketing, but sometimes I wonder) people are out there
from Mickeysoft promoting the "No one ever got fired for buying M$"
message. NT is a >corporate< product. This, in my view, means that
you don't care if it works as long as you can hire someone else to
fix it and your budget is maintained. Hell, if we started using "free"
products, we wouldn't have license fees to pay and my budget to run
a 100 node NT network would disappear. Budgets = Power in that sad
world.

A new vendor on the market will us "Our product runs embedded NT."
as a plus in a sales pitch. Note the full stop. Their target audience
believe them. A different vendor says "Our product runs on xBSD/Linux
..." and then has to spend the next hour justifying why theis
selection is a valid one.

Oh, yeah. I intend to do something about it. In my own little way.
After all, someone has to combat M$ thinking they can buy the ISP
marketplace.

Regards,
-- 
Peter Galbavy
@ Home in Wonderland
http://www.wonderland.org/ http://www.whirl-y-gig.org.uk/ http://www.demon.net
     Be remembered not for your final destination, but for your journey.



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