Linux Through a Fanboi's Eyes

[Hex_Rated]

You can run Windows, Apache, mySQL, PHP on a windows server box as well.
There is some hacked derivative of .NET on Linux, I wouldn't want to try it.

Linux = Large servers / clusters
Windows = Desktop / exchange servers / etc

And this whole Windows is monopolising the OS market argument is crap. They come out with a technology like .NET and everyone screams bloody murder if they don't want to give the secrets away. Exchange is another thing, they made, they keep it.

The whole reason that Linux isn't taking over is:

1) Is not easy for the user

2) They need leverage some advantage to using their OS, at the moment it's none. You might say security but with a WINTEL box with firewall switched on and behind a router with spyware and malware sweeps, it's just as effective. The whole more secure aspect is history. If they could get easy 1 click graphics drivers going and get some games made for their system and there was an increase in performance, that would be something.

3) There are too many distros, standardise one distro to rule them all. Some distros require hours of work to get them to install minor apps, some just install from the get go. They desperately need some standardisation so everyone is running one distro. By all means keep the embedded distros, but give us a commercial distro as a main choice. One that can 3D with little efffort, without modifying 10 different .cfg files.

4) It's truly cross platform (diffirent micros), but so is Java and JVM. If you really need cross platform compatibility Java is the way to go, may be slower than native code (something like 1.5x) but it's easy to setup.

As for learning Linux, it's a good skill to have, but learn Windows backwards first. Then do a course on Linux and get a distro and play around with it.

[hamin_aus]

A+ is still a prerequisite for most hardware/OS orientated IT qualifications.

It is usually part of a package offered by the training institutes like New Horizons, IT Intellect or CS Holdings. And it is usually in there just to get all the noobs familiar with PC's. Hardly a prerequisite.

Just there to push the price of the course up, really

[Prime]

from personal experience, I started doing an A+ course in highschool. it was such a waste of time and money. The books were way out of date and I actually knew more about some of the tech than the books.

I never bothered to finish it...

[D3PART3D]

Ooh, anybody know how much the MCP exams cost?