[ale] Linux the $400 Operating System

[John Wells]

Drew,

Nothing is free.

Except, maybe, google, which is a close to "free" as one can come...
https://listman.redhat.com/pipermail/ext3-users/2002-April/003247.html

John

ChangingLINKS.com said:
> For over a half decade, a new Unix variant offers users more speed,
> stability  and security than MicroSoft Windows. The variant's name is
> Linux. Currently  Linux has grown into an operating system that comes
> with thousands of free  programs and an install (with all it's upgrades)
> can use 6-8 times more space  than Windows 98.
>
> Most people believe that since it's beginning's, Linux has been "free,"
> at  least insofar as being able to download and use the operating system
> on a  daily basis. However, what many users are finding, is that there
> are costs  that can be incurred after committing to the operating
> system.
>
> "In the beginning, I tried to fully install Linux - and just couldn't. I
> ended  up paying a company called "Onyx" $90 to install it for me - and
> they refused  to help with data encryption or playing DVDs," a spokesman
> from
> ChangingLINKS.com. He went on to say, "As time went on, I shelled out
> other  varying amounts of cash to "Linux gurus" in an effort to learn
> how to use the  operating system better."
>
> In all fairness, he did mention that he got lots of help from the Linux
> community - including encoding a video tape for playback on a CD which
> would  have cost a couple hundred dollars to create using a graphics
> company. Still  on the downside, is the countless hours spent trying to
> understand various  programs and features. "You come across some topics,
> like security - and it  seems like there is only one or two guys that
> can help. In windows encrypting  a filesystem 'on the fly' and using it
> daily is easy. My data is still  unencrypted to this day," the spokesman
> said.
>
> But what of the price tag that entitles this article? It is spent on
> data  loss. After calling around to various data recovery companies, the
> minimum  estimate for recovering data for Linux was $400. The price
> includes a  standard diagnostic charge. In Windows, data recovery is
> relatively easy.  There are programs like "Recover" and "Winhex" that
> will undelete your data  with a few simple clicks. Don't make the same
> mistake with Linux though- it  could cost you hundreds, especially if
> you are using the "ext3" filesystem.
>
> "In my 12 years of using Windows, I have never lost a 100,000 byte file
> - and  my first Windows box was was installed (and reinstalled) on a
> computer with a  defective hard drive. For years, each time I booted the
> compter, some of the  hard drive medium would be permanently damaged and
> unusable. But, I still  never lost mor than a screenfull of data."
>
> The spokesman was using Worker on Linux, and accidentally deleted an
> directory  tree. Next, he spent day and night trying to learn how to
> undelete the data  from the ext3 partition, and is currently looking a
> Windows solutions to  recover the data. "I'm just hoping that Windows
> can bail me out, because I  have not been able to understand the results
> from the Linux based tools. For  data recovery and encryption, Windows
> is simply the way to go."
>
> So before downloading your next distro or using programs that automate
> deletion of files on Linux, at least be careful. The mantra that you
> will  hear from the Linux community is "restore from your backup" but
> that is  useless when you do 8 hours of work - and your back up was not
> sceduled until  12 hours have elapsed.
>
> All in all, the real Losers (of data) are the Lusers that end up having
> to  spend $400 to get their data back. In some cases the only "freedom"
> about  Linux provides your computer is "freedom from important data."
>
> staff writer
> --
> Wishing you Happiness, Joy and Laughter,
> Drew
> http://www.ChangingLINKS.com
>
> ---
> This message has been sent through the ALE general discussion list. See
> http://www.ale.org/mailing-lists.shtml for more info. Problems should be
>  sent to listmaster at ale dot org.




---
This message has been sent through the ALE general discussion list.
See http://www.ale.org/mailing-lists.shtml for more info. Problems should be 
sent to listmaster at ale dot org.