I’m expecting some good years from Red Hat. I can’t think of any other affordable, undervalued tech stock with better odds.
Red Hat was just added to the S&P 500, recently upgraded by Goldman Sachs, and now runs NYSE’s Euronext servers:
With the combination of speed, cost, reliability, and functionality pushed to the limit, we have to out perform the competition in each category, and our competition is getting better all the time. Linux as an operating system has been the fastest growing with respect to these requirements, and we’re not limited by what’s in front of us. The quality of the Linux platform is greatly important to us and Red Hat Enterprise Linux has exceeded our expectations,
For the same reasons, foreign countries wanting to avoid lock-in will prefer Red Hat. Microsoft wants governments to think the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) is about the same–but Linux is free. If there’s something Linux can’t do for your country, right there is an opportunity to create local jobs.
Red Hat also thrives in a bad economy. Because companies want to save money? Also, I bet unemployed programmers contribute more time and code during recessions.
Fedora 11 is now an attractive option, in opinion, for people not able to, not wanting to spend money for Windows 7. And for people like me who had other complaints, like ridiculously long startup and shutdown times.
Linux vs. Windows — Desktop Applications
OpenOffice and GIMP are now excellent alternatives to Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Photoshop. I recently finished an accounting course and completed all of my assignments in OpenOffice–the professor had no idea I wasn’t using Excel. Opening Powerpoint presentations in OpenOffice is easy too. Same for .doc files.
GIMP is now the preferred graphics app among professional web designers–ask Sitepoint users if you don’t believe me. I started using Photoshop in the early 90s. Photoshop was the only game in town. I switched to GIMP in 2003 and never looked back. GIMP runs OK on Windows, but much slower.
As for Firefox, it’s faster in Fedora, more stable, won’t hang on big sites.
In summary, Fedora 11 with Gnome is a fast, attractive, secure, stable, intuitive alternative to Windows. I had tried Linux two times before (years ago) and the experience was frustrating. I had not burned a CD in 15 years and was a little intimidated just burning the ISO. But my fears were assuaged. And you only need Fedora’s command line (Terminal) about as often as you need it in Vista. Gnome is that easy.
Don’t underestimate run-of-the-mill desktop users. This is why OS/2 died. I believe in the long run our level of comfort with Linux adds to Red Hat’s bottom line. And with more people trying Apple products, newfangled mobile devices, Windows loyalty makes less sense. From eWeekEurope:
Other reasons why companies should re-think their stance on desktop Linux include a “more centralised approach to desktop delivery via various virtualisation and/or cloud computing options” and the “gradual creep of the Apple Mac into the enterprise” plus the “general backdrop of the economic downturn”, the report states.