Linux vs. Windows Web Hosting Review
Posted on 2005-05-13 12:26:37 by LSDsmurfMicrosoft developed and owns the Windows operating system. Linux is open source and generally free. This means it can often be more expensive to set up and run a Windows server. However, this fact doesn't really affect you unless you are actually setting up a server for yourself and if you're reading this article then I'm guessing that it's safe to assume you're not.
Link: TTZ
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| Re: Linux vs. Windows Web Hosting by Anonymous on Saturday, May 14 2005 @ 22:31 CEST |
| As if the costs hosting companies incur don't affect the prices they must charge? Under certain circumstances, Windows hosting is cheaper than Linux. If a company uses ONLY Windows-based computers AND they need to have their own servers IN HOUSE for one reason or another, the hardware and software cost of running that server will be miniscule compared to the cost of having good connectivity. What's more, the cost of supporting a Windows server is likely to be substantially lower than having to hire someone new. It's also substantially cheaper for someone running their server off a cable modem to use Windows than to use linux, because Mommy and Daddy have already purchased that Windows computer, so there's no need to pay $200 for a second computer. (Because cable modems are MUCH faster at bring data to customers than sending data to the internet, such a site is too slow for more than one dialup user at a time as well.) That great free software doesn't come with support, and Microsoft makes a big point of that, asserting that their software is actually cheaper than free. Actually, they're right. It is cheaper. The reason to use linux is because it's better. DOS and Windows were designed for personal computers, but Linux and Unix were designed for impersonal ones. Security on a PC used to mean making sure the door was locked when you left at the end of the day. A multi-user operating system, on the other hand, assumes that there are going to be multiple users, and not everybody likes everyone else. Not just the operating system, but all the software that runs on it, is designed to function well despite being in a hostile environment. Windows has some security added on, but you can't add it on here and there - you have to plan for it from the beginning. In addition, with linux software, I usually get source code, which means I can fix bugs myself. Sometimes, I need to search BBSes for the fixes, and sometimes, I have to slog through the source code myself, but I can often solve a pressing problem within a few hours. Microsoft, on the other hand, releases updates and patches once a month, and there's no way of ensuring that YOUR problem is high on the list of problems to fix. You might wait months or years for them to get around to your fix. If your business is losing customers and losing sales for three months, waiting for Microsoft to release an important fix, how much does THAT cost you? Even if you have a hobby website, do you want it to NOT work for months, waiting on the sidelines? I find that linux works best for my needs - but not everyone who chooses Windows is foolish. Sometimes, it can make sense. |