Re: Moving from Oracle 8i on Windows to 10G on RH Linux

Kanwar Singh Plaha wrote:
> Hi Daniel,
> I read with interest your opinions of going with Apple as opposed to
> Linux. Although I will try to steer away from any seemingly zealot
> comments here, I would definitely want to ask you to back up your claim
> of Apple being cheaper than Linux, support and all included.
>
> My previous company moved from a Solaris platform to Red Hat Linux with
> Oracle 10g and have saved heaps (and is saving each time they want to
> add a new server). Linux servers (from DELL) are now as cheap as
> $10,000 (AU) and come pre-installed with Red Hat Linux AS. I really
> want to know the cost of hardware and software of each Apple computer
> so we can give a fair assessment to whoever is looking to make a
> change.
>
> Don't get me wrong, your comments seem to be driven by "contempt" for
> the Open-Source alternative.
>
> Most important: Why lock users into another vendor while veering them
> away from one? Apple is as proprietory as Windows. I say this not
> because I want all software to be open-source or free (Oracle is not!)
> but look at the trend that Oracle has taken: They are moving to open
> standards all around. Shouldn't that be a guideline for their users
> too?
>
> Your thoughts?

The financial argument is this simple.

A 2 CPU Mac G5 with operating system and 3 years of AppleCare support can be had for well under $5000. The equivalent support agreement for 3 years from RedHat will cost more thanthat and doesn't include the hardware ... just the o/s and its support.

Now you may prefer to fly without a support contract and that is certainly your right. But if you do then you are no longer comparing apples with apples. ;-)

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
http://www.psoug.org
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
(replace x with u to respond)