-----Original Message----- From: "Saswata Banerjee & Associates" scrap@saswatabanerjee.com
<snip> On a related note, why is it that in mid 90s, 68% of webservers were Apache / Linux ? Not simply because the server owners thought open source philosophy is great (many of them probably did too), but because it met a very important need of theirs and it was business decision. ------------- There are fundamental differences between the Free software Movement (spearheaded by FSF) and the open source movement. There are not the *same* but *similar*. Hence it is not wise to mention them in the as synonyms.
<snip>
For example, If I ever tell my clients to switch to Linux, it will be considering business factors only -- cost (not necessarily free -- and considering hardware + software costs), options avaialble, ease of use, difficulty to maintain and availabity of good tech personnel who are willing to provide support at a reasonable cost. -----------
Also you will agree that being not being tied to a single s/w vendor also makes sound business sense. So that you are not at the nercy to the whims and fancies of that particular vendor
---> Vinayak Hegde