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Open Source Software, particularly the Linux Operating System, provides many advantages over proprietary Operating Systems, particularly Microsoft Windows. The advantages to Public School Systems, the increase in use of Linux in the Enterprise, the increase in Linux used as Web Servers, and the increase in the use of Linux by governments, makes Linux a viable alternative for use in Public School Systems. Gary Glasscock submitted the following editorial to osopinion/osViews which suggests that Public School Systems now have an economic and academic responsibility to introduce Linux into the mix of their Computer Science education curriculums.

It's an insurance company's dream: Sell policies for something so unlikely to occur that you'll get to scoop up premiums and never have to pay out. That's pretty much what's going on with companies selling antivirus products for Linux. Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews which asks the question, "Are buyers of Linux antivirus software wasting their money?"

Last Saturday The Mozilla Foundation announced that it was 300% over its target of garnering $75,000 in donations so that it could place a full page ad in the New York Times. Kelly McNeill's osRadio broadcast shows that this strategy has the potential to exceed most paid software company's advertising budgets if extended to more projects and be allowed to go beyond the 10 day time limit that The Mozilla Foundation set.

It's an exciting era in the Berkeley Software Distribution world; indeed, things started off with a litigious bang over a decade ago, but now BSD solutions are more varied than ever before and offer the user heretofore unprecedented choice and power. So many are the options today that it's time for a roll call from the various distributions. Paul Webb submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews which takes a look at what each BSD has to offer and also looks at where each is going.

The notion of "killer apps" fueling a platform's growth seems embeded in our technological culture, but those of us looking for this key to help fuel Linux's growth may be overlooking the biggest opportunity yet. The following editorial submitted to osOpinion/osViews indicates that "total system integration" is a huge opportunity that up until now has only been put into use to only a limited degree. Indeed it will be the platforms that can offer the tightest integration that have the largest growth potential.

Those of us that Unix operating systems on a regular basis are familiar with the stability and ubiquity but familiarity and consistency? While the former is exactly where it should be the latter needs some work. Peter Colijn submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews which suggests that as Unix migrates to the desktop, this is the next step that needs to be address for greater acceptance.

Which computer companies will be around in 10, 15 and 20 years? This question seems tough without a technological crystal ball, but the answer is easier than you might think. Kelly McNeill submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews which details the reasons why the x86 OEM PC business is destined for a rapid decline due to the inibility to diferentiate products from the competition on anything other than price. he says this guarantees a future with only one PC manufacturer but that we will see the return of proprietary hardware dominance.

There's a common thread within the KDE-using community that likes to take Gnome to task for its lack of features as compared to their preferred desktop interface. "More is better" is the phrase that might best summarize the mantra that this community adheres to. Russell Hires was among those KDE users that adopted this philosophy until he was in a circumstance which required that he install Gnome instead. Russell submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews which details a change in the way he perceives Gnome now after using it more extensively.

Despite the rapid growth of alternatives to Windows, there is a considerable number that have tried the alternatives, still prefer Windows but are frustrated with some of Microsoft's policies. There are many good concepts throughout the NT kernel, but there is a great deal of it that is flawed or leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, without access to the source code, none of us can fix it. Enter ReactOS. This operating system is a young but rapidly growing open source clone of Windows NT. Wesley Parish contributed the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews, which analyses the benefits and drawbacks of the operating system.

An exciting project that made a splash in the open source community recently is an open source project known as PearPC. PearPC is a PowerPC emulator for x86 computers. The software allows its user to emulate PowerPC-based systems so that you can run operating systems such as OS X, GNU/Linux for PPC and other OSes that were designed for PPC on x86. osOpinion/osViews had the opportunity to speak with the the lead developer of the project, (Sebastian Biallas) to answer some questions about its ongoing development.

For those who deal with setup/maintenance/administration/upgrades of servers, the choice of using proprietary or open source software can either add to our busy schedule or make it more simplified. Kasey Speakman submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews, which compares the advantages and disadvantages of Linux and Windows server systems as well as the benefits and disadvantages of proprietary and open source software.

The Darwine project intends to port and develop Wine as well as other supporting tools that will allow Darwin and Mac OS X users to run Windows Applications. It is an open source project led by a growing number of developers including Emmanuel Maillard, Pierre d'Herbemont and Sanjay Connare. osOpinion/osViews had the privilege to speak to with the project's administrator, (Jim White) to tell us more about Darwine and where the project is headed. The following is the transcribed dialog of their conversation which is also available in an audible format on osRadio.com.

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced that it would be offering crippled versions of Windows at a reduced rate to developing countries. The company said that the strategy is meant to address piracy that is prevalent in these areas due to a public that receives exceptionally lower income levels as compared to the rest of the world. David Sugar submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews, which shows that Microsoft's intentions aren't as noble as the company implies and that this is simply one more example of the company using its illegal monopoly position to stifle competition.

At SCO Forum earlier this month, research analyst Rob Enderle was invited to be a keynote speaker. Mr. Enderle has a reputation for his over-the-top, (to put it kindly) style of technology journalism, yet many who attended the SCO Forum keynote said that the speech he gave was a doozy by even his standards. Howard B. Golden submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews, which addresses some of the points expressed throughout Mr. Enderle's speech.

Open Source Risk Management a.k.a "OSRM" is an insurance of sorts that has been offered by some organizations to alleviate concern over damages relating to lawsuits for companies who are alleging that Linux (for example) violates as many as 300 patents. The more rational among us know that these lawsuits are baseless, but the insurance is there for the less informed CEO who wants to save money while increasing productivity but cant quell the brought about overly-litigious companies. A Forbes.com editorial didn't help to quell the concerns of these less informed CEOs As a matter of fact, the news organization raised the bar instead. Howard B Golden submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews, which responds not only to Forbes.com but also the Linux users that got baited by the story.

As computer, OS and technology aficionados many of us have become all too familiar with the rivalries that occur between different camps. At some level this back and fourth dialog is healthy because it exposes others to alternative solutions which might better better than what they are currently using. But somewhere along the line, these rivalries got out of control and individuals in the same camp are creating division where unity is most needed. Daniel R. Miessler submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews, which analysis how out of control the situation has become. Can't we all just get along?

The reaction one gets when attempting to get a manager in a corporate environment to consider an alternate operating system can sometimes be likened to a typical dilbert comic strip. Joseph Mallett contributed the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews which suggests that if you present the case properly, your pointy haired boss will make the right decision when choosing a Unix operating system to run the business.

Although free software operating systems are getting progressively easier to use, a great deal of work is still necessary. Most of us in the alternative OS community are aware of this but a refinement objective that still doesn't get enough attention is the "less is more" analogy. Sometimes it's better to remove (or at least centralize) functionality rather than toss it on top of the heap. The following osOpinion/osViews editorial contributor made this observation after attempting a Knoppix installation.

You would think that having a monopoly in your business would have no comprehensible downsides to it, but Microsoft's monopoly, combined with the maturity of the computing marketplace means that its growth potential is practically nonexistent. Thad Phetteplace contributed the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews, which analyses Microsoft's recent dividend to its shareholders. His editorial draws parallels to Microsoft's new plateau-like growth strategy and new opportunities for Linux and open source software.

If you follow technology trends, you're probably aware of the two schools of thought with regard to security and/or cryptography. Does cryptography and security solutions become more secure as the number of eyes pouring over its source code increases or is a private solution which leverages security through obscurity provide a more secure environment? Daniel R. Miessler submitted the following editorial to osOpinion/osViews, which offers some compelling arguments for both scenarios. In the end, his well thought out opinion, comes to a universal conclusion.