> > I'm certianly pro-Linux, and prefer it to any MS release, but the MS > > releases are a fair bit more "hand holding". > > I think that statement needs to be qualified by version numbers and > the purity of the box at the time of the installation. Latest OS versions, bare drive, and associated manufacturer drivers for each.
I think that when you compare the install of the just base operating system things are basically even, possibly even tilted in MS's favor. But when you consider that with Debian, for instance, as part of the OS install you can dselect a whole mess of crap (dhcp/ftp/ssh/http/php/nfs/print/masquerading/firewalling/filtering/.... services) Linux has real leverage. Because after one install and one (possibly two) reboot(s), the system is ready to work at just about anything you want with only minor adjustments needed for security.
Compare just the time it would take to outfit Win2000 or WinXP with a seperate piece of software for each service (not to mention the reboot needed after each install and the three or four during the base OS install) and it could well be a solid day or two before the machine is ready to go.
-Roberto _________________________________________________________________The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail