Latest News from Paul Murphy

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

Fri, 30 May 2003 00:00:00 EDT

SCO alleges IBM improperly extended its licensed use of Unix Source code and related information to Linux. This is a big problem for IBM but of little importance to the general Linux community. (1200 words)

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

Tue, 13 May 2003 00:00:00 EDT

Open source offers a better option for XML, thus making the real bottom line on Microsoft's use of XML in Office 1X a simple one: follow and lose, or continue to diverge and win by offering a smarter alternative that also happens to be cheaper. (2,900 words)

Virtual case study: Unix brings sanity to an accounting services firm

Mon, 07 Apr 2003 00:00:00 EDT

At Big Four accounting-services firms like KPMG, computing is completely dominated by the Microsoft PC. Paul Murphy looks at what Linux could mean for these firms over the next two-to-five years and finds, not surprisingly, that adopting Linux would save them money. More interestingly, however, he argues that open source complements other ongoing changes and trends that could make the profession fun again. (3,400 words)

A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix, version 2.0

Wed, 26 Feb 2003 00:00:00 EST

Murphy's October 2001 TCO analysis generated much reader comment. In this article, the first installment in a two-part series, he revisits the Linux-versus-Windows decision for the faculty of a small college or university. (3,000 words)

How Sun can pull out of its slump

Wed, 29 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

If Sun doesn't get a turnaround at the top, its shares could sink to the point that management would have to look for a white knight... which would destroy the most innovative company in the business. In the end, Sun is rock-solid; getting there is a short-term problem for which we offer a modest proposal (or two). (3,000 words)

Cocoon 4: The distraction in the dark

Mon, 27 Jan 2003 00:00:00 EST

With the core prototype awaiting user reaction, Murphy examines consolidation and software pricing issues raised by readers. He finds Moore's Law has been working its magic on Unix software costs while only Nixon's Law seems to have applied to Microsoft's. (2,600 words)

Cocoon Wars, Episode 3: The users byte back

Wed, 18 Dec 2002 00:00:00 EST

Paul Murphy explains why SOAP makes getting a grip on network security a slippery ordeal, why the Aberdeen Group's report that open source is less secure than Windows is hogwash and how to bolster server-side security with Linux/Cocoon. (3,000 words)

Open-source vs. Microsoft tools for business-app implementation, Part 2

Wed, 27 Nov 2002 00:00:00 EST

How to assemble the Unix-side infrastructure needed to create a business-application system to compete with Microsoft-licensed software. Also, a look at reader reaction to the first installment in this series. (2,500 words)

The worst security problems? We can't tell from the FBI's top 20 list

Mon, 11 Nov 2002 00:00:00 EST

The list is misleading in that many readers and editors would have seen this as an FBI certification of the relative equality of security problems between systems running Microsoft Windows and those running Unix.

Nichievo corporate background

Fri, 18 Oct 2002 00:00:00 EDT

Sidebar to 'The pros and cons of business-app implemention via open-source software (Part 1)' (1,700 words)

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

Fri, 18 Oct 2002 00:00:00 EDT

Licensed or open-source software: which is the better choice in real business situations? Paul Murphy launches the debate with the first installment in a six-part series. In this article, Paul compares the costs, key questions, risks and managerial issues involved in implementing business apps via Apache/Cocoon to those brought about when using Microsoft-licensed software. (5,300 words)

How Apache & Plan 9 will defeat Microsoft's Passport

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 00:00:00 EDT

Microsoft's XML extensions form the basis for the Passport single sign-on service but are fundamentally inconsistent with SGML principles. In contrast, Plan 9's factotum authentication management offers an elegant and effective open source alternative.

Readers react to 'Take a Mac user to lunch'

Mon, 05 Aug 2002 00:00:00 EDT

What we got right & wrong in 'Why you should take a Mac user to lunch' including the definition of a 'blade,' PostScript vs. PDF, and the purchase price of a bundled operating system. (2,100 words)

Why you should take a Mac user to lunch

Wed, 24 Jul 2002 00:00:00 EDT

Apple's new rackmount server is just another Unix box -- with big implications for the Linux community. Four million new Unix users a year, that's the MacOS X promise and it's a market full of friends with whom we should be working. (2,200 words)

Weighing the pros & cons of IBM's mainframe Linux, Part 2

Mon, 06 May 2002 00:00:00 EDT

This is the second of three articles in which Paul Murphy takes a close hard look at running Linux on the mainframe. In this article, he looks at who should buy into this product. Next week, we look at what IBM could do to reduce skepticism surrounding the performance claims of Linux on the zSeries. (5,600 words)

Readers react to 'Weighing the pros & cons of IBM's mainframe Linux'

Fri, 26 Apr 2002 00:00:00 EDT

A confession of error, poking a little fun at religion, and early benchmarks results from deep inside the IBM cloister. (1,250 words)

Virtual case study: Systems decisions at Cutter Mills

Tue, 19 Feb 2002 00:00:00 EST

Author Paul Murphy's first LinuxWorld article A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix on making the Unix decision suggested that Unix is usually a smarter business choice than Windows. The current article, seventh and penultimate in this series, looks at what it takes to implement that knowledge in the real world. (8,100 words)

Virtual case study: Systems decisions at Cutter Mills

Tue, 19 Feb 2002 00:00:00 EST

Virtual case study: Betting on Linux at Andersen Printing

Fri, 01 Feb 2002 00:00:00 EST

Author Paul Murphy's previous LinuxWorld article on making the Unix decision suggested that Unix is usually a smarter business choice than Windows. The current article, sixth in a series, looks at what it takes to implement that knowledge. (3,800 words)

Virtual case study: When Unix is a four-letter word

Mon, 21 Jan 2002 00:00:00 EST

Author Paul Murphy's A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix suggested that Unix is usually a smarter business choice than Windows. The current article, fifth in a series, looks at what it takes to implement that knowledge. (3,000 words)

Virtual Case Study: How An Airline Can Find Efficiency With Unix

Fri, 04 Jan 2002 00:00:00 EST

Author Paul Murphy's A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix suggested that Unix is usually a smarter business choice than Windows. The first article in this series, Virtual case study: Cutting IT costs with Unix, looked at what it took to implement that knowledge at a manufacturing firm. In Saving a small software developer with Linux, he showed how an ISV could save its customers money, and itself from ruin. In this installment, we look at how an airline can increase flexibility with a Unix-based Real-Time Airline Operating System. (Part 2: 4,500 words)

Virtual case study: How an airline can find efficiency with Unix

Fri, 04 Jan 2002 00:00:00 EST

Virtual case study: How an airline can find efficiency with Unix

Fri, 21 Dec 2001 00:00:00 EST

Virtual case study: Saving a small software developer with Linux

Tue, 04 Dec 2001 00:00:00 EST

Author Paul Murphy's A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix suggested that Unix is usually a smarter business choice than Windows. The first article in this series, Virtual case study: Cutting IT costs with Unix, looked at what it took to implement that knowledge at a manufacturing firm. In this installment, a small, independent software vendor on the road to ruin is introduced to Linux as a part of a turn-around strategy. (2,500 words)

Virtual case study: Cutting IT costs with Unix

Fri, 16 Nov 2001 00:00:00 EST

Author Paul Murphy's A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix on making the Unix decision suggested that Unix is usually a smarter business choice than Windows. This article, the first in a series, looks at what it takes to implement that knowledge in a small business. (3,500 words)

Readers react to 'A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix'

Fri, 26 Oct 2001 00:00:00 EDT

Author Paul Murphy responds to reader feedback to his story A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix. (800 words)

A strategic comparison of Windows vs. Unix

Thu, 18 Oct 2001 00:00:00 EDT

Most of the Windows versus Unix debate has been cast in terms of which is technically better or which is cheaper, but the real question is, 'Under what circumstances is it smarter to pick one technology rather than the other?' (4,500 words)