Re: trying to choose platform - windows or unix

There are many compelling reasons on both sides of the table as to why one platform is better than the other. Rather than give you an objective list of technical pros/cons, I'm going suggest that you consider two very non-technical (subjective) things to keep in mind as you read through and evaluate the probable flood of responses to your posting. My suggestions here apply to choices other than the choice of an OS, by the way, because every choice of this nature needs to strike a balace between objectivity ("A is better than B because it provides X more functionality") and subjectivity ("But I just like B much better than A").

1. Do one of the choices command a passionate following of believers? In other words, in spite of whatever technical superiorities that a choice may or may not provide, are the proponents of that choice particularly passionate about it regardless of its shortcomings? If so, there may be value in finding out *why*. An example of this is the Mac platform vs. "the rest of the world" - Mac owners are passionate about their machines, and there's a reason for this (just ask one and you'll find out). Does that make the choice better? Not always. But it bears investigation.
2. To what extent do people go to the trouble of switching after having made one of the choices? In other words, after having chosen between A and B, how many instances are there of people later switching from B to A, or A to B? Because making a choice and later having to switch is usually pretty expensive and time-consuming. If a trend emerges, that bears investigation. An example of this is Mozilla vs. Explorer - a trend is definitely emerging there. Does that make this choice better? Again, not always, but it's worth looking at.

So there's a couple of things to consider on the subjective side of the equation. In your particular case, then, you may consider looking to see whether to see if Linux or Windows commands a passionate following, and also, is there a clear trend of migration from one to the other platform.

Again, this is the subjective side of the equation. Try to balance this with the objective side before making a final decision.

Craig

binarydivision_at_gmail.com (binarydivision) wrote in message news:<dcba181f.0411011210.721b2d9f_at_posting.google.com>...
> I'm currently going to school for computer information sciences and
> want to try for some certifications. I have experience in both
> platforms windows and a few linux distros, but I want to learn
> everything possible from the platform OS on up. So before I spend any
> time or money on certifications, any suggestions, opinions, or
> recommendations from your past experiences with either platforms.
Received on Tue Nov 02 2004 - 07:26:13 CST