[thelist] thinking about making the switch (m$ to *nix)

[Chris W. Parker]

hey eveyone,

lately i've been thinking about making the switch (at least for web
servers) to a low-cost/free alternative. i'd like to hear what
suggestions you have on operating systems and such.

i looked at the redhat website and was surprised to see that redhat 8.0
is 150 bucks? then again i tried to setup openbsd once and could only
get the thing installed and that's about it (maybe i should get a book).
and maybe the high cost is the tradeoff for ease-of-use?

here are some goals/ideas i've got...
1. i'd like to save money on the cost of the box. including os,
hardware, and random programs.
2. i'd like to get myself familiar with the unix/linux world (what's the
difference anyway?).

i'd appreciate any
explanations/diatribes/pointers/references/suggestions you can give me.


thanks,
chris.