[KLUG Advocacy] Linux Outpacing Macintosh On Desktops

[Adam Williams]

>>Well an interesting thing in this is that as I read Linux Journal I
>>am noticing a fair number of letters about people that have switched
>>to suign OS X for their desktop while leaving Linux on the back end
>>machines.  This is also what I plan on doing at my house is to put in
>>a few iMacs (one for the kids, one for the wife and one for me) and
>>still leave the firewall and such on Linux boxes.  They make a nice
>>combination to use together.  I also feel that even though Linux has
>>come a long way in recent years in the desktop arena there are a
>>number of things that still are not quite there.  I still run into a
>>number of frustrations that I need to use Windows (soon to be Mac)
>>for.  
>Sounds very similar to the way I run things.  I'm too much of a gamer to 
>run anything but Windows on the desktop, but I have a house server that 
>runs Linux.  It's a much older machine, that I don't think would run 
>Windows XP, but Linux handles it just fine.  Runs Samba,Apache, DHCP, 
>DNS, a webcam (when I get USB working again, but that's another story), 
>and a DDNS client with no problem.  Makes a serious argument for NOT 
>having a GUI on a server, I think.

There is an argument for GUI-less servers, but typically not on large
servers that neophytes must attend to.  The advantage of Linux is that
the server can have a GUI,  but it is only running when you need it. 
xVNC, XDMCP, or just startx.  There are many ways to have your cake and
eat it too.