Paul Murphy

(LinuxWorld) — So far I've not received much feedback on the key business issues in the first Cocoon article, although quite a lot of comment has come in on two cost related issues: the impact Microsoft licensing has on hardware choices and the need to use BizTalk. No one questioned the notion that you'd put all of the applications on the same box on the Unix side, but several people wanted to know why I put everything on one box instead of using an N-tier architecture for the Windows side. There are two answers to that: First, I didn't want to load the comparison against Windows by using Windows SMP (a.k.a. the rackmount) to get inter-application isolation. I think doing that would drive up Windows-side costs quite dramatically and be considered unfair, particularly when we look at the complexities of recoverability and synchronization in a two-site environ... (more)

The pros and cons of business-app implemention via open-source software (Part 1)

(LinuxWorld) — This is the first installment of a series comparing the implementation results for real business applications. We'll examine business-application implementation using Unix tools and ideas and how this plan of attack compares to what happens when the same apps are implemented using Microsoft-licensed software. Each application will be the subject of two articles. The first one will present the theoretical — or "book-learning" — view of the issue and invite readers with real-world experience in using the technologies to contact the author in confide... (more)

Is the sky falling and the end near for open source?

(LinuxWorld) — Does what Microsoft is doing with XML spell the end for open-source office applications in general and OpenOffice.org in particular? Gary Edwards, a design consultant for Web applications and OpenOffice.org's representative on the OASIS Open Office XML Format Technical Committee, seems to think so. Certainly, he has repeatedly expressed his concern that next-generation Microsoft Office Suites will force an even greater degree of Microsoft lock-in than current releases do. Edwards is undoubtedly right to be worried. Microsoft's use of XML is sufficiently Microsoft-c... (more)

Why an SCO win is a slam dunk and why you need not care

(LinuxWorld) — When SCO filed its lawsuit against IBM, Linuxworld.com editor Mark Cappel summarized the complaint as: SCO claims IBM is destroying the Unix market by taking knowledge the company gained via its source-code license to Unix and sharing this knowledge with the Linux community. This alleged action strengthens Linux, and, because Linux is no-cost or almost-no-cost, it cuts the legs out from under SCO's market. SCO claims IBM's duplicity has damaged SCO to the tune of $1 billion. SCO's own summary, presumably drafted by someone at the law firm of Boies, Schiller & Flexne... (more)

Virtual case study: Betting on Linux at Andersen Printing

(LinuxWorld) -- Editor's note: The "I" in this scenario is that of a systems consultant brought in as part of a team whose aim is to help a small-business owner plot a long-term survival strategy for her company. Gerda Andersen Printing, its staff and plans, are fabrications but the situation presented, and the remedies offered, reflect the author's experience with a real-world organization facing a broadly similar problem. Andersen Printing is imaginary, but the conditions, decisions, and outcomes described are broadly based on real events. Gerda Andersen began her printing busi... (more)