Can someone tell me why anyone would use LINUX?

[phongn]

A lot of the inflated prices come from silly people buying retail versions of Windows. To be blunt, never, ever do that. OEM's soo much cheaper, and Microsoft support is nonexistent anyways, so there's no chance of missing out on anything.

Microsoft has granted their blessing on selling OEM copies bundled with power cables.

[White Haven]

They did that a loooong time ago. I know, we do it at work.

[Xon]

Microsoft has granted their blessing on selling OEM copies bundled with power cables.

Newest OEM licence agreement closes that loophole. However, these do not retroactively apply to existing older copies.

[Xon]

What else can you get from it other than Windows XP?

This isnt a complete list;
Virtual Server 2005 (aka server version of Virtual PC) has hit the msdn, and the latest Vista CTPs when ever they show up.

Applications
o Access
+ Access 2.0
# Access 2.0 (English)
+ Access 2003
# Office Access 2003 (English)
o Business Contact Manager 2003
+ Office Business Contact Manager 2003 (English)
o InfoPath 2003
+ Office InfoPath 2003 (English)
o MapPoint
+ MapPoint 2004 Europe
# English
* MapPoint 2004 European - Run Disc (English)
* MapPoint 2004 European - Setup Disc (English)
+ MapPoint 2004 North America
# MapPoint 2004 North America - Run Disc (English)
# MapPoint 2004 North America - Setup Disc (English)
o OneNote 2003
+ Office OneNote 2003 (English)
o Project
+ Project 2002
# Project 2002 Multilingual User Interface (MUI)
* Project 2002 Multilingual User Interface - CD1 (Multi-Language)
* Project 2002 Multilingual User Interface - CD2 (Multi-Language)
* Project 2002 Multilingual User Interface - CD3 (Multi-Language)
# Project 2002 Professional (VL)
* Project 2002 Professional (VL) (English)
# Project Professional 2002
* Project Professional 2002 (English)
# Project Server 2002
* Project Server 2002 (English)
# Project Standard 2002
* Project Standard 2002 (English)
+ Project 2003
# Project 2003 Professional
* Office Project Professional 2003 (English)
* Office Project Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface Disc 1 (MUI)
* Office Project Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface Disc 2 (MUI)
* Office Project Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface Disc 3 (MUI)
* Office Project Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface Disc 4 (MUI)
# Project 2003 Server
* Office Project Server 2003 (English)
# Project 2003 Standard
* Office Project Standard 2003 (English)
o Visio
+ Visio 2002
# Visio 2002 Professional - SR1
* Visio 2002 Professional (English)
# Visio 2002 Professional (Volume License)
* Visio Professional 2002 (VL) (English)
+ Visio 2003
# Office Visio Professional 2003 (English)
# Office Visio Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface Disc 1 (MUI)
# Office Visio Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface Disc 2 (MUI)
# Office Visio Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface Disc 3 (MUI)
# Office Visio Professional 2003 Multilingual User Interface Disc 4 (MUI)
* Developer Tools
o Access 2003 Developer Extensions
+ Office Access 2003 Developer Extensions (English)
o DCOM
+ DCOM for the Enterprise (Beta 1) (English)
+ DCOM for Windows 95 v1.1 (English)
o eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0
+ English
# eMbedded VC++ 4.0 SP2 QFE 5308 Arm Compiler (English)
# eMbedded VC++ 4.0 SP2 QFE 5308 Platman (English)
# eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0 (English)
o eMbedded Visual Tools 3.0 - 2002 Edition
+ eMbedded Visual Tools 3.0 - 2002 Edition (English)
o FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions
+ FrontPage 2000 Server Extensions (English)
o Macro Assembler 6.11
+ Microsoft Macro Assembler 6.11 (English)
o MDAC
+ MDAC 2.6
# MDAC 2.6 (English)
+ MDAC 2.7
# MDAC 2.7 (English)
# MDAC 2.7 Service Pack 1 Refresh (English)
+ MDAC 2.8
# MDAC 2.8 (English)
o Microsoft Electronic Learning Libraries
+ M.E.L.L. - Developer Edition for MSDN Academic Alliance (English)
o ODBC Data Access Packs
o QuickBasic 4.5
+ QuickBasic 4.5 (English)
o Visual Basic
+ Visual Basic .NET 2003
+ Visual Basic 2.0
# English
* Visual Basic 2.0 Professional - Full Install (English)
+ Visual Basic 3.0
# Visual Basic 3.0 Professional - Full Install (English)
+ Visual Basic 4.0
# Visual Basic 4.0A (English)
+ Visual Basic 6.0
o Visual C++
+ Visual C++ (Alpha Systems)
# Visual C++ 6.0 for Alpha Systems (English) Disc 1
# Visual C++ 6.0 for Alpha Systems (English) Disc 2
+ Visual C++ 1.52
# Visual C++ 1.52 (English)
+ Visual C++ 2.0
# Visual C++ 2.0 (English)
+ Visual C++ 4.2
# Visual C++ 4.2 Enterprise Edition (English) Disc 1
# Visual C++ 4.2 Enterprise Edition (English) Disc 2
+ Visual C++ Browser Toolkit
# Visual C++ Browser Toolkit v5.0 (English)
o Visual FoxPro
+ Visual FoxPro 6.0
# Visual FoxPro 6.0 (English)
+ Visual FoxPro 7.0
# Visual FoxPro 7.0 (English)
+ Visual FoxPro 7.0 Service Pack 1
# Visual FoxPro 7.0 Service Pack 1 (English)
+ Visual FoxPro 8.0
# Visual FoxPro 8.0 (English)
+ Visual FoxPro 9.0 Beta
# InstallShield Express 5.0 FoxPro Limited Edition (English)
# Visual FoxPro 9.0 Beta (English)
# Visual FoxPro 9.0 Beta Release Notes (English)
o Visual J# .NET
+ Visual J# .NET (English)
+ Visual J# .NET Redistributable (English)
o Visual Modeler
+ Microsoft Visual Modeler (English)
o Visual SourceSafe
+ Visual SourceSafe 6.0c
# Visual SourceSafe 6.0c for Visual Studio .NET (English)
+ Visual SourceSafe 6.0d
# Visual SourceSafe 6.0d (English)
o Visual Studio .NET
+ Visual Studio .NET Academic Alliance
# Academic Alliance Faculty Tools (English)
# Academic Alliance Student Tools (English)
# Microsoft .NET Academic Resource Kit (English)
# English
* Visual Studio .NET Professional (English) CD 2 - ISO
* Visual Studio .NET Professional (English) CD 3 - ISO
* Visual Studio .NET Professional (English) CD 4 - ISO
* Visual Studio .NET Professional (English) CD1 (AA) - ISO
* Windows Component Update for Visual Studio .NET (English) - ISO
+ Visual Studio .NET Professional
# English
* Full Setup (Recommended)
o Visual Studio .NET Professional Full Setup (English)
* ISO Images
o Visual Studio .NET Professional (English) CD 1 - ISO
o Visual Studio .NET Professional (English) CD 2 - ISO
o Visual Studio .NET Professional (English) CD 3 - ISO
o Visual Studio .NET Professional (English) CD 4 - ISO
o Windows Component Update for Visual Studio .NET (English) - ISO
o Visual Studio .NET 2003
+ Visual Studio .NET 2003 Academic Tools
# English
* Visual Studio .NET Academic Student Tools 2003 (English)
* Visual Studio .NET Academic Teaching Tools 2003 (English)
+ Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional
# English
* Full Install (Recommended)
o MSDN Library for Visual Studio .NET 2003 - CD1 (English)
o MSDN Library for Visual Studio .NET 2003 - CD2 (English)
o MSDN Library for Visual Studio .NET 2003 - CD3 (English)
o Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional - Full Install (English)
* ISO CD Images
o MSDN Library for Visual Studio .NET 2003 - CD1 (English)
o MSDN Library for Visual Studio .NET 2003 - CD2 (English)
o MSDN Library for Visual Studio .NET 2003 - CD3 (English)
o Visual Studio .NET 2003 Prerequisites Disc (English)
o Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional - CD1 (English)
o Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional - CD2 (English)
* ISO CD Images
o Visual Studio .NET 2003 Prerequisites Disc
* Full Install (Recommended)
* ISO CD Images
o Visual Studio 2005
+ Visual Studio 2005 Enterprise Architect Beta 1
# ISO CD Images
* Amberpoint Express for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 (English)
* MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 - CD1 (English)
* MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 - CD2 (English)
* MSDN Library for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 - CD3 (English)
* Remote Debugger for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 (English)
* Visio Tools for Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 (English)
* Visual Studio 2005 Enterprise Architect Beta 1 - CD1 (English)
* Visual Studio 2005 Enterprise Architect Beta 1 - CD2 (English)
o Visual Studio 2005 Express Products Beta 1
+ Visual Basic 2005 Express Beta 1 (English)
+ Visual C# 2005 Express Beta 1 (English)
+ Visual C++ 2005 Express Beta1 (English)
+ Visual J# 2005 Express Beta1 (English)
+ Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Beta1 (English)
o Visual Studio 6.0
+ Visual Studio 6.0 Enterprise Edition
# English
* MSDN Library, Visual Studio 6.0a Edition, Disc 1 (English)
* MSDN Library, Visual Studio 6.0a Edition, Disc 2 (English)
* Visual Studio 6.0, Enterprise Edition, Disc 1 (English)
* Visual Studio 6.0, Enterprise Edition, Disc 2 (English)
* Visual Studio 6.0, Enterprise Edition, Disc 3 (English)
+ Visual Studio 6.0 Professional Edition
# English
* MSDN Library, Visual Studio 6.0a Edition, Disc 1 (English)
* MSDN Library, Visual Studio 6.0a Edition, Disc 2 (English)
* Visual Studio 6.0 Professional (English) CD 1
* Visual Studio 6.0 Professional (English) CD 2
+ Visual Studio 6.0 Service Pack 6
o Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System 2003
+ Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System 2003 (English)
o Windows CE Tools
+ Windows CE .NET Platform Builder - Full Version
# Windows CE .NET 4.1 Platform Builder - Full Version
* English
o Windows CE .NET 4.1 CD 1 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.1 CD 2 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.1 CD 3 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.1 CD 4 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.1 CD 5 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.1 CD 6 (English)
# Windows CE .NET 4.2 Platform Builder - Full Version
* English
o Windows CE .NET 4.2 - CD1 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.2 - CD2 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.2 - CD3 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.2 - CD4 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.2 - CD5 (English)
o Windows CE .NET 4.2 - CD6 (English)
+ Windows CE DirectX Platform Adaptation Kit
# Windows CE DirectX Platform Adaptation Kit Version 1 (English)
+ Windows CE Toolkit for Visual Basic 6.0
# Windows CE Toolkit for Visual Basic 6.0 (English)
+ Windows CE Toolkit for Visual C++ 6.0
# Windows CE Toolkit for Visual C++ 6.0 (English)
o Windows XP Embedded - Full Version
+ Windows XP Embedded (English)
+ Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 1 - CD1 (English)
+ Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 1 - CD2 (English)
+ Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 1 - MUI CD2 (European)
* MSDN Library
o Library Archive
+ MSDN Library Archive (English)
o MSDN Library April 2004
+ English
# MSDN Library April 2004 - CD1 (English)
# MSDN Library April 2004 - CD2 (English)
# MSDN Library April 2004 - CD3 (English)
# MSDN Library April 2004 - Full DVD Image (English)
o MSDN Library January 2004
+ English
# MSDN Library January 2004 - CD1 (English)
# MSDN Library January 2004 - CD2 (English)
# MSDN Library January 2004 - CD3 (English)
# MSDN Library January 2004 - Full DVD Image (English)
o MSDN Library July 2004
+ English
# MSDN Library July 2004 - CD1 (English)
# MSDN Library July 2004 - CD2 (English)
# MSDN Library July 2004 - CD3 (English)
# MSDN Library July 2004 - Full DVD Image (English)
o MSDN Library October 2001
+ English
# MSDN Library October 2001 - Full Setup (English)
# MSDN Library October 2001 ISO CD Image: Disc 1 (English)
# MSDN Library October 2001 ISO CD Image: Disc 2 (English)
# MSDN Library October 2001 ISO CD Image: Disc 3 (English)
* Platforms
o Internet Explorer
+ Internet Explorer 6.0
# Internet Explorer 6.0 (English)
+ Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1
# Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1 (English)
o MS-DOS
+ MS-DOS 6.0 (English)
+ MS-DOS 6.22 (English)
o Virtual PC 2004
+ Virtual PC 2004 (English)
o Virtual PC for Mac 6.1
+ Virtual PC for Macintosh 6.1 (English)
o Windows 16-Bit Editions
+ Windows 3.1
# Windows 3.1 (Catalan)
# Windows 3.1 (Persian)
+ Windows 3.11
# Windows 3.11 (English)
+ Windows 3.2
+ Windows for Workgroups 3.11
# Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (English)
o Windows 2000
+ Windows 2000 Advanced Server
# Windows 2000 Advanced Server (English)
# Windows 2000 Advanced Server with SP4 (English)
+ Windows 2000 Customer Support Diagnostics
# Windows 2000 Customer Support Diagnostics - RTM
* Windows® 2000 Customer Support Diagnostics (English)
# Windows 2000 Customer Support Diagnostics - SP3
* Windows® 2000 Service Pack 3 Customer Support Diagnostics (English)
# Windows 2000 Customer Support Diagnostics - SP4
* Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Customer Support Diagnostics (English)
+ Windows 2000 Developer`s Readiness Kit
# Windows 2000 Developer's Readiness Kit (English)
+ Windows 2000 Multilanguage Edition
# Windows 2000 Multilanguage Edition Disk 2
# Windows 2000 Multilanguage Edition Disk 3
+ Windows 2000 Professional
# Windows 2000 Professional (English)
# Windows 2000 Professional with SP4 (English)
+ Windows 2000 Resource Kit
# Windows® 2000 Professional Resource Kit (English)
# Windows® 2000 Server Resource Kit (English)
+ Windows 2000 Security Roll-Up Package, January 2002
# Windows 2000 Security Roll-Up Package (English)
+ Windows 2000 Server
# Windows 2000 Server (English)
# Windows 2000 Server with SP4 (English)
+ Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
# Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 (English)
# Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 (English) Debug/Checked Build
+ Windows 2000 Service Pack 2
# Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 - Full CD Installation (Check Build) (English)
# Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 - Full CD Installation (English)
# Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 (English)
# Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 Checked (English)
+ Windows 2000 Service Pack 4
# Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (English)
# Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Checked/Debug (English)
o Windows 98
+ Plus! for Windows 98
# Plus! for Windows 98 (English)
+ Windows 98 Second Edition
# Windows 98 Second Edition (Dutch) ISO CD Image
# Windows 98 Second Edition (English) ISO CD Image
# Windows 98 Second Edition (English) Part 1
# Windows 98 Second Edition (English) Part 2
# Windows 98 Second Edition (Hebrew Localized)
# Windows 98 Second Edition (Slovak)
# Windows 98 Second Edition (Slovenian)
o Windows Advanced Server, Limited Edition
+ English
# Windows Advanced Server, Limited Edition Version 1.2 Eval (English)
o Windows Longhorn Client Preview
+ PDC 2003 Build (Build 4051)
# Longhorn Driver Kit (LDK) for Windows Longhorn Client Preview (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview - 32-Bit (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview - 32-Bit Checked/Debug (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview - 64-Bit Extended (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview - 64-Bit Extended Checked/Debug (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview - 64-Bit Itanium (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview - 64-Bit Itanium Checked/Debug (English) (DVD ISO Image)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview SDK (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview Symbols (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview Whitepapers and Extras (English)
+ WinHEC 2004 Build (Build 4074)
# Customer Support and Diagnostics Tools for Windows Longhorn Client Preview 2 (English)
# Developers Kit for Windows Longhorn Client Preview 2 (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview 2 - 32 Bit Professional Edition (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview 2 - 32 Bit Professional Edition Checked Build (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview 2 - 64-bit Edition (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview 2 - 64-bit Edition Checked Build (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview 2 - 64-bit Extended Systems Edition (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview 2 - 64-bit Extended Systems Edition Checked Build (English)
# Windows Longhorn Client Preview 2 SDK (English)
o Windows ME
+ Windows® Millennium Edition (English)
+ Windows® Millennium Edition (English) Full CD Version
+ Windows® Millennium Edition (Slovak)
+ Windows® Millennium Edition (Slovenian)
o Windows NT 4.0
+ Windows NT Enterprise Server 4.0
# Windows NT Enterprise Server 4.0 - CD1 (English)
# Windows NT Enterprise Server 4.0 - CD2 (English)
+ Windows NT Server 4.0
# Windows NT Server 4.0 (English)
+ Windows NT Workstation 4.0
# Windows NT Workstation 4.0 (English)
o Windows Server 2003
+ Windows Server 2003
* Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (Dutch)
* Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition (Standard)
# English
* Platform SDK - February 2003 Edition (English)
* Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition - Checked/Debug (English)
* Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (English)
* Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition For 64-Bit Itanium-based Systems - Checked/Debug Version (English)
* Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition For 64-Bit Itanium-based Systems (English)
* Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition (English)
* Windows Server 2003 System Resource Manager (English)
* Windows Server 2003 Web Edition (English)
* Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (Hungarian)
# Multilingual User Interface (MUI)
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Multilingual User Interface - CD1
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Multilingual User Interface - CD2
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Multilingual User Interface - CD3
* Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Multilingual User Interface - CD4
+ Windows Server 2003 (Volume License)
# Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition - VL (English)
# Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition - VL (English)
# Windows Server 2003 Web Edition - VL (English)
+ Windows Server 2003 Prerelease/Beta (Unsupported)
# 64-Bit
* 64-Bit Extended Systems (e.g., AMD Opteron, Athlon64)
o English
+ Prerelease: Windows Server 2003 Customer Support and Diagnostics (English)
+ Prerelease: Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition For 64-Bit Extended Systems - Checked/Debug (English)
+ Prerelease: Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition For 64-Bit Extended Systems (English)
+ Prerelease: Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Driver Development Kit (English)
+ Prerelease: Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition For 64-Bit Extended Systems (English)
* Itanium-Based Systems
o English
+ Prerelease: Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition for Itanium-Based Systems
+ Prerelease: Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 for Itanium-Based Systems
+ Prerelease: Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 for Itanium-Based Systems Checked/Debug Version
+ Prerelease: Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition Service Pack 1 for Itanium-Based Systems
+ Prerelease: Windows XP Professional Edition with Service Pack 1 Checked/Debug Version For Itanium-based Systems (English)
+ Prerelease: Windows XP Professional Edition with Service Pack 1 For Itanium-based Systems (English)
o Windows Services for UNIX
+ Windows Services for UNIX 2.0
# Windows® Services for UNIX 2.0 (English)
+ Windows Services for UNIX 3.0
# Windows® Services for UNIX 3.0 (English)
+ Windows Services for UNIX 3.5
# Windows Services for UNIX 3.5 (English)
o Windows XP
+ Windows XP 64-Bit Edition, Version 2003
# 64-Bit Extended Systems
* Windows XP 64-Bit Edition For 64-bit Extended Systems - Checked/Debug (English)
* Windows XP 64-Bit Edition For 64-bit Extended Systems (English)
# Itanium 64-Bit Systems
* Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003 (English)
+ Windows XP Home
# Windows XP Home Edition
* Windows XP Home Edition (English) - ISO CD Image
+ Windows XP Media Center Edition
# Windows XP Media Center Edition CD1 - Checked/Debug (English)
# Windows XP Media Center Edition CD1 (English)
# Windows XP Media Center Edition CD2 (English)
+ Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004
# English
* Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 Update (English)
+ Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack
# Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack CD 1 (Multi-Language)
# Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack CD 2 (Multi-Language)
# Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack CD 3 (Multi-Language)
# Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack CD 4 (Multi-Language)
# Windows XP Multilingual User Interface Pack CD 5 (Multi-Language)
+ Windows XP Professional
# Windows XP Professional
* Windows Customer Support Diagnostics (English)
* Windows XP Professional (English) Checked/Debug ISO CD Image
* Windows XP Professional (English) ISO CD image
# Windows XP Professional (Volume License)
* Windows XP Professional (VL) ISO CD Image (English)
# Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1a
* Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1a - Checked/Debug - (English)
* Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1a (English)
+ Windows XP Service Pack 1a
# Windows XP Service Pack 1A (English)
+ Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 1
# Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 1 (English)
# Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 1 Customer Support Diagnostics Tools (English)
+ Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 2
# Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 2 (English)
# Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 2 Customer Support Diagnostics Tools (English)
# Windows XP Service Pack 2 Release Candidate 2 Platform SDK
+ Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
# Windows XP Tablet PC
* English
o Windows XP Tablet PC Edition CD1 - Checked/Debug (English)
o Windows XP Tablet PC Edition CD1 (English)
o Windows XP Tablet PC Edition CD2 (English)
* Multilingual User Interface Pack
o MUI and Recognizer Pack for Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC
# Windows XP Tablet PC (Volume License)
* English
o Windows XP Tablet PC Edition CD1 (English) - VL
o Windows XP Tablet PC Edition CD2 (English) - VL
* Servers
o Application Center 2000
+ Microsoft Application Center 2000 with Service Pack 2 (English)
o BizTalk Server
+ BizTalk Accelerators and Adapters
# BizTalk Accelerator for Financial Services (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for Financial Services 1.0 Service Release 1, Enterprise Edition (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for HIPAA Enterprise 1.0 - Service Pack 1 (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for HIPAA Enterprise 1.0 (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for HIPAA Enterprise 2.0 (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for HL7 1.0 (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet 1.0 (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet Version 1.1 Enterprise Edition (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for RosettaNet Version 2.0 (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for Suppliers (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for Suppliers, Service Release 1 (English)
# BizTalk Accelerator for SWIFT 2.0 (English)
# BizTalk Adapter for MQSeries 1.0 (English)
# BizTalk Adapter for SAP 1.0 (English)
+ BizTalk Server 2000
# BizTalk Server 2000 (English)
# BizTalk Starter Kit (English)
+ BizTalk Server 2002
# BizTalk Server 2002 Developer Edition (English)
+ BizTalk Server 2004
# BizTalk Server 2004 Developer Edition
* BizTalk Server 2004 Developer Edition (English)
# BizTalk Server 2004 Enterprise Edition
* BizTalk Server 2004 Enterprise Edition (English)
# BizTalk Server 2004 Partner Edition
* BizTalk Server 2004 Partner Edition (English)
# BizTalk Server 2004 Standard Edition
* BizTalk Server 2004 Standard Edition (English)
o Commerce Server
+ Commerce Server 2000
# Commerce Server 2000 (English)
# Commerce Server 2000 Service Pack 3 (All Languages)
+ Commerce Server 2002
# Commerce Server 2002 Developer Edition
* Commerce Server 2002 Developer Edition (English)
# Commerce Server 2002 Feature Pack 1
* Commerce Server 2002 Feature Pack 1 (English)
# Commerce Server 2002 Feature Pack 3
* Commerce Server 2002 Service Pack 3 (English)
# Commerce Server 2002 Service Pack 1
* Commerce Server 2002 Service Pack 1 (All Languages)
# Commerce Server 2002 Service Pack 2
* Commerce Server 2002 Service Pack 2 (English)
* Commerce Server 2002 Service Pack 2 Symbols (English)
o Content Management Server
+ Content Management Server 2001 (English)
+ Content Management Server 2002 (English)
+ Content Management Server 2002 Developer Edition with Service Pack 1A (English)
+ Content Management Server 2002 Service Pack 1A (English)
o Exchange Server
+ Exchange 2000
# Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server
* Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server (English)
# Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server Service Pack 2
* Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server Service Pack 2 (English)
# Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server
* Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server Rev A (English)
* Exchange 2000 Server Resource Kit (English)
# Exchange 2000 Server
* Exchange 2000 Server (English)
# Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 2
* EXCHANGE 2000 Service Pack 2 (English)
# Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 3
* Exchange 2000 Service Pack 3 (English)
+ Exchange 2003
# Exchange 2003 Enterprise Server
* Exchange Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (English)
# Exchange 2003 Service Pack 1
* Exchange 2003 Service Pack 1 (English)
# Exchange 2003 Standard Server
* Exchange Server 2003, Standard Edition (English)
+ Exchange Server 5.5
# English
* Exchange Server 5.5 Enterprise Edition (English)
# Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 4
* Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 4 (English)
o Host Integration Server 2000
+ Host Integration Server 2000 Service Pack 1 (English)
+ Host Integration Server 2000a (English)
o Host Integration Server 2004 Beta
+ Host Integration Server 2004 Beta 2
o ISA Server
+ ISA Server 2000 Enterprise
# ISA Server 2000 Enterprise Edition (English)
+ ISA Server 2000 Standard
# ISA Server 2000 Standard Edition (English)
+ ISA Server 2004 Beta
# ISA Server 2004 Standard Edition Beta (English)
o Microsoft Operations Manager
+ Microsoft Operations Manager 2000
# Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 (English)
# Microsoft Operations Manager Application Management Pack 2000 (English)
# Microsoft Operations Manager Service Pack 1 (English)
+ Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Release Candidate
# Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Express Release Candidate (English)
# Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Release Candidate (English)
# Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Release Candidate 64-bit Agent (English)
# Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Release Candidate Documentation (English)
# Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Release Candidate Exchange 2003 Management Pack (English)
o Mobile Information Server
+ Mobile Information 2001 Server
# Mobile Information 2001 Server Developer (English)
+ Mobile Information 2002 Server
# Mobile Information 2002 Server Developer (Multi-language)
o Office Live Communications Server 2003
+ Office Live Communications Server 2003, Standard Edition (English)
o SharePoint
+ SharePoint Portal Server 2001
# SharePoint Portal Server 2001 (English)
+ SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Service Pack 1
# SharePoint Portal Server 2001 SP1 (English)
+ SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Service Pack 2A
# English
* SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Service Pack 2A - 1 (English)
* SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Service Pack 2A - 2 (English)
* SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Service Pack 2A - 3 (English)
* SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Service Pack 2A - 4 (English)
* SharePoint Portal Server 2001 Service Pack 2A - 5 (English)
+ SharePoint Portal Server 2003
# Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 (English)
+ Windows SharePoint Services 2.0
# Windows SharePoint Services 2.0 (English)
o Site Server 3.0
+ Site Server 3.0 (English)
+ Site Server 3.0 Service Pack 2
# Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Service Pack 2 (Alpha) (English)
# Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Service Pack 2 (Alpha) Debug Symbols (English)
# Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Service Pack 2 (X86) (English)
# Microsoft Site Server 3.0 Service Pack 2 Debug Symbols (X86) (English)
o Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition
+ Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition (English)
+ Site Server 3.0 Commerce Edition Resource Kit (English)
o SNA Server
+ SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 3
# SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 3 (English) Part 1
# SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 3 (English) Part 2
+ SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 4
# SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 4 (English)
o Software Update Services
+ Software Update Services Server with Service Pack 1 (English)
o Speech Server 2004
+ Microsoft Speech Server 2004 Enterprise Edition (English)
+ Microsoft Speech Server 2004 Standard Edition (English)
o SQL Server 2000
+ SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine Revision A (MSDE)
# SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine Revision A (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine SP2 (MSDE)
# SQL Server 2000 MSDE Service Pack 2 (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition
# SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition - 64 Bit
# SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition - 64 Bit (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition
# SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Notification Services
# Enterprise
* Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Notification Services 2.0 Enterprise Edition (English)
# Standard
* Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Notification Services 2.0 Standard Edition (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Personal Edition
# SQL Server 2000 Personal Edition (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services
# SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services Developer Edition (All Language)
# SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services Enterprise Edition (All Languages)
# SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services Standard Edition (All Languages)
+ SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services Service Pack 1
# SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services Service Pack 1 (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 1
# SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine Service Pack 1 (English)
# SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 1 (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 2
# SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 2 (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3
# English
* SQL Server 2000 SP3 Analysis Services Components (English)
* SQL Server 2000 SP3 Database Components (English)
* SQL Server 2000 SP3 Desktop Engine (MSDE) (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3a
# SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3a (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition
# SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition (English)
+ SQL Server 2000 Web Services Toolkit
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[Superman]

Destructionator, saying I touch myself at night is kind of like saying that the sky is blue. Hell, if I DON'T touch myself at night, then I start looking at my grandma after a couple of days... errr...

I guess as someone who likes to play Civ 3 and COH, Linux is not for me.

[Praxis]

Destructionator, saying I touch myself at night is kind of like saying that the sky is blue. Hell, if I DON'T touch myself at night, then I start looking at my grandma after a couple of days... errr...

I guess as someone who likes to play Civ 3 and COH, Linux is not for me.

Both of those games are officially supported by Cedega as well as tested to work.

http://transgaming.org/gamesdb/

[Pu-239]

Eh, customizability.

In my case, I like a decent CLI available if needed that can do everything (like using vim and makefiles, despise IDEs), and the infinite customizability and ability to do most everything but play games (which I can't do anyway do to crappy hardware). LOTS of dev tools and nifty utilities available on Linux too that aren't on Windows or are crappy to use on Windows. Developing PHP for use on a remote server is nice w/ SSHFS, which lets me mount any folder as part of the filesystem if the server supports SSH which is pretty much every UNIX/Linux server out there (I'm too lazy to downgrade my own server for testing- GMU's ITE server runs Solaris plus versions of PHP that are rather limited, and older versions of MySQL).

DEATH- I haven't had to pay drivers for anything- the only one I can think of which you do have to is the Linuxant drivers for the WinModems and their wrappers for Windows wireless drivers (which the free ndiswrapper can do) from the same company.
Neither are applicable to me, since I use broadband and have a hardware modem anyway, and ndiswrapper works fine for the wireless card in the server (crashes and burns every once in a while though when I switch it on and off, but I only use it to poach my neighbor's internet when mine goes down due to crappy reliability (Cox sucks)).

The Linux runs on older hardware stuff is a myth though, unless you strip down the desktop to something really minimal.

Destructionator, have you tried Dosemu? It's a lot faster than dosbox emulation.

Also, time is saved if you need to do installs on hetrogenous hardware, since the hardware detection won't die if the HDD/HDD image is moved from one computer to another. Fresh installs also seem to be faster.

The time I waste w/ Linux is for the myriad of customizations I do, plus my habit of running bleeding edge stuff which breaks all over the place which I have to go over and fix (Ubuntu Breezy upgraded from vanilla Debian Sid).

Apps on Linux are better written as well for security, while one has to work around apps on Windows which require admin.

[JediToren]

Why do I use Linux?

1) It doesn't spy on me.
2) It just plain works. The only time it breaks is when I do something incredibly stupid, like delete my /usr directory. It never breaks for no reason right at the worst possible time as Windows has done.
3) On Linux, problems have logical causes that are relatively easy to identify and fix. I have never seen a Linux user recommend "Reload the OS" as a solution.
4) It is secure and does not get viruses. Despite the fact that I ran two virus-scanners which I scheduled to update and scan the system weekly, never opened attachments, and never used IE or Outlook, I came home from a convention one day to discover that Windows had been wasted by yet another virus. I had these Mandrake 10 official CD's lying around. I just said "fuck it" and I have hardly touched Windows since then.
5) There is no spy-ware or adware for Linux.
6) A useful Linux system can be loaded in under an hour for free. Back when I used Windows for something other than the occasional game, a reload of the OS took two or three days to get all settings and software reloaded.
7) A video player is just a video player. It doesn't pester you with ads for content or ask you to upgrade to a pro version. Install a few plug-ins and it plays everything.
8) RealPlayer for Linux doesn't suck a mountain of ass the size of an Imperial Star Destroyer, unlike the Winblows version, which does.
9) You NEVER, EVER have to reboot when installing software. Not even drivers.
10) Native software never takes down the entire OS if it crashes.
11) Virtually any app you can imagine has a free, full-featured, open-source equivelent on Linux. Gimp, OpenOffice, Cinelerra, Kino, Madman, XMMS, Xine, MPlayer, etc.
12) My work belongs to me. I can never be locked out of my work because of faulty copy protection schemes or forced to upgrade to continue what I was doing before. Though upgrading isn't that painful. It's free and you can even do it over the web!
13) URPMI. I can't remember the last time I used to go to websites to download software. I've spent hours looking at the packages offered up on my various URPMI sources. There is some cool shit on there. I rarely download ANY software from websites anymore. Other distros use Yast, Apt-get, etc.
14) My OS always tells me what it's doing. I can find out exactly what a software package will install and where. The OS installer is a nice user-friendly GUI that puts me in control.
15) The OS and the software that runs on it are seperated. There is no silly "OS intergration" horse shit.
16) The OS never rots.
17) I can upgrade my OS and all my old apps still work!
18) You can accomplish anything with a simple script WITHOUT opening a huge security hole. You can use the cron to run scripts and automate anything.
19) You can burn CD's/DVD's and do other stuff at the same time without the burn fucking up.

I could go on. Linux just works. You load it up and it's ready to go in no time. You never have to worry about a virus attack messing you up just before finals are due. Applications don't modify the OS, and applications only do what they are supposed to. They do not have annoying bells and whistles, advertising, or excessively flashy or animated interfaces.

Linux is a very low-maintence OS. Windows you have to be constantly on the defensive against viruses, spy-ware and adware. You need a battery of apps to fight these incursions on your system and you need to reload the OS periodly to avoid Windows rot. On Windows, "reload the OS" is a common "solution" to many problems. Even the most careful and cautious user will eventually have their system wiped out by a virus, hack, mysterious problem, or poorly written software that "upgrades" the OS without your permission.

Linux Gaming:
I play most games under Linux, either using the Linux-native ports of games like UT2004, Homeworld, FreeSpace 2, Serious Sam, Duke Nukem 3D, etc. or running Windows games using Wine or the CVS version of Cedega. I've played through every entry in the Jedi Knight series (MotS included), KOTOR, Half-Life, Blue-Shift, Opposing Force, Red Faction, and Voyager: Elite Force.
AVP2, X-Wing Alliance, and Halo don't run well enough to play yet under Wine/Cedega.

I have an ATI card and get pretty good performance, although my next card will be NVidia. It's my understanding that ATI's Linux support has less to do with drivers and more to do with the boards being engineered for Direct 3D (just something I heard, not sure if it's true, though). ATI's driver installers aren't very user-friendly, either. However, in recent months the drivers have really improved in quality. When running the driver config app I recommend setting the driver to Option 3: Compatibility mode, as these seems to improve performance when running Windows games.

I play a few games with Windows and that's it. If I need to test a website in IE or an emulator of WebTV or a cell phone browser, I just run those browsers using Wine.

I don't use Linux because of my dislike for Microsoft and/or Bill Gates. I liked Windows for a long time and it served me well. Eventually, the cost and the maintenence got too annoying so I tried a competitors product. It was better in almost all respects so I switched and I haven't regretted it for a second.

[Darth Wong]

I'm just curious, why would anyone use Linux? Isn't it sort of limited compared to Windows?

Do you realize that this board is currently running on Linux? You would have to pay me to switch this server over to Windows, because it would instantly increase my Headache Quotient by a factor of ten.

Linux is inferior for gaming and certain kinds of desktop work (specifically, most commercial desktop multimedia programs), but my wife Rebecca does all of her Internet surfing and E-mailing on Linux despite being a complete computer n00b. It's not hard to use, and it provides considerable peace of mind in terms of security, not to mention the "difficult for the user to fuck it up" factor.

If it weren't for gaming and video editing, I would almost never use Windows.

[Pu-239]

3) On Linux, problems have logical causes that are relatively easy to identify and fix. I have never seen a Linux user recommend "Reload the OS" as a solution.

Yes, this is something that is rather important- stuff often breaks due to what I do, but at least I usually know why, or can find out why. [/quote]

[Faram]

We bought a server this summer for close to $200 000, it is shiny

What did you buy? i-series? z-series?

P5 with a bigass SAN attatched to it.

[phongn]

P5 with a bigass SAN attatched to it.

Going for that POWER5 lovin', eh?

[Lucifer]

I've finally got my hands on Linux at the university lab and I'm loving it. Firefox only crashed on me once, and lagged only once, but it's much better, compared to my cousin's windows computer. I normally use Mac OSX, but since I haven't found any macintosh labs at my university, I'd rather be using the Linux ones than windows.

At a place like this, I thought there might even have been an anti-Microsoft thread or board, but I guess it's just computers and gaming.

[TrailerParkJawa]

My company uses Linux as the OS which runs our products. We do this to avoid licensing costs to Microsoft. The downside is that our custom version of Linux has started to fall behind the open source community in terms of bug fixes and such. As a result I'm not sure if we are really saving money since not keeping up costs us new customers.

As for me, the more I learn about Linux the more I like it. Its not perfect, no OS is. But being able to control so much is really handy.

[sketerpot]

Oddly enough, you were kinda expected to know Unix as a CS major. No one ever taught us how, or even informed us that we'd be working on Unix machines, unless we asked. I'm sure that led to many a frustrated CS freshman screaming "WHY THE FUCK DOESN'T 'cd' WORK? LET ME CHANGE DIRECTORIES, YOU BASTARD!"

Why wouldn't the cd command work on Unix? Isn't that the standard Unix command to change the current working directory?

Anyway, I use Linux often because it annoys me less than Windows and there are some programs on Linux that I really like.

I'm really big on using Emacs and Linux for my programming environment, and I get irritable when I have to use something inferior like Borland C++ 4. I write lab reports using LyX, which is quick and easy and lets me produce nice-looking output with mathematical expressions. Firefox works the same on Linux and Windows, as does OpenOffice. When I need to open MS Office documents and OpenOffice has trouble with them (rarely) I use MS Office on the Linux machines, since my university has shelled out for Crossover Office.

There are a number of other Linux programs I've come to depend on, but I'm getting tired of typing.

[phongn]

Ahh, LaTeX, how I love thee.