Linux And Music

One obvious advantage of Linux is lower acquisition cost, and while this is definitely a factor for sites with large numbers of computers and limited budgets (for example schools), it's not actually the major reason for most migrations. In the case of a multi-million dollar movie studio, it's unlikely to be the price of Linux alone that makes it attractive. These studios can afford to buy any system they want, so why are they choosing Linux? The answer is in part the lower cost of Intel processor hardware compared to the traditional SGI UNIX platform, and the fact that it's much easier to move programs from SGI to Linux than from SGI to Windows.

But a far more compelling reason for the migration is the quality and flexibility of Linux. Machines powered by Linux have been known to run for months or even years without needing a reboot, let alone crashing. In the UNIX world that's not unusual, but that kind of reliability hasn't been seen on desktop computers before. And the open source development model means that users can get the software they want, rather than just choose from what's on offer.

Another factor often cited by people who have migrated to Linux is the supportive and knowledgeable user community. If you have a problem with your Linux machine, there are lots of places to ask for help — both with local user groups and on the Internet. Linux users tend to be self-documenting: when they find the solution to a problem, they will often create a web page describing the fix to share their knowledge.

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