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View Full Version : Hi, I'm new to planet earth.



Blastnsmash
December 13th, 2007, 12:28 AM
I'd like to get some thoughts if possible. I'm new to OSS and really just getting into the IT world.

I am looking into using some open source software to possibly supplement our windows environment.

I think the main area of competition at this point for the OSS world is development tools. Microsoft is rolling out many new tools and most of them seem very promising. Visual Studio, Blend, Silverlight, Linq etc.

I guess from my perspective, I'm least interested in a desktop replacement. Windows Xp is a good client and it is reasonable. I think where Microsoft really gouges a company is on their server software and database software. This is quite expensive and has a very fun pricing model, based on who and what devices are accessing your server software.

So for me, OSS seems like a possible backend solution. I'd like to have my xp clients in order to run .net applications and Visual Studio. I'd like to have ISS 6 to run .aspx applications and to possibly develop on silverlight if its any good. But, if mysql and the linux server is a viable replacement to sql server and windows server then I would be all for that.

Is it possible to replace the windows server software with OSS while still taking advantage of the development tools available by keeping winxp clients and setting up a windows web edition server for the web?

Maybe too much discussion just over coffee.

Mazza558
December 13th, 2007, 12:31 AM
Planet earth's a pretty nasty place to live in some places.

Blastnsmash
December 13th, 2007, 12:33 AM
Planet earth's a pretty nasty place to live in some places.

:) It can also be quite pleasant. I find that pleasantness is related to current temperature, humidity and company.

LaRoza
December 13th, 2007, 12:35 AM
You can use Cygwin in Windows to make it almost like programming Linux.

Considering Linux and *nix systems are used widely as servers, and businesses, OSS is worth looking into.

MS just got a bunch of OSS developers to make IronPython (Python is a very popular language in Ubuntu and OSS development), so they see value in it.

Mazza558
December 13th, 2007, 12:37 AM
:) It can also be quite pleasant. I find that pleasantness is related to current temperature, humidity and company.

Definitely. I hear New Zealand's okay, not so sure about the Sahara.

t0p
December 13th, 2007, 01:49 AM
Definitely. I hear New Zealand's okay, not so sure about the Sahara.

When I first came to Earth, I spent most of my time at the bottom of the Pacific - because most of the planet's surface is covered with water, I didn't immediately realise that most folk are on dry land.

Now though, I find the Antarctic the best place to be. Nice and cool, and no stampeding rhinos to avoid.

toupeiro
December 13th, 2007, 01:51 AM
Mysql and Postgres are two SQL alternatives for you to consider. There is also oracle 10G express which supports developers working on .NET and is free if you wanted to explore Oracle.