Archive for May, 2008

Best Operating System for E-Commerce

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

What is the best operating system for e-commerce? The answer is easy, the one that works. Many information technology gurus will make arguments for and against various operating systems. The arguments still leave you with one problem, “who will maintain the operating system?”

Many small business owners do not have the resources to hire either a full-time Administrator or a consulting firm to handle the administration. This leaves the business owner to perform many processes and tasks, like setting up email and web development. Not being able to afford professional help is not a capitol offense, but being business savy. Why spend valuable resources for an operating system, when you should be concentrating on product development and marketing.

I have a few suggestions for either business or individuals when it comes to operating systems:

  1. Examine available resources for setting up and maintaining your operating system. Many Linux operating systems are free to download and install; however, you will either be required to pay for support or dive in headfirst to get the operating system running. All operating systems come with helpful guides for troubleshooting and setting up the operating system, the extent of the guides depends upon the manufacturer and or community support for the operating system.
  2. Examine the system development life cycle (SDLC). Is the operating system still supported by the manufacturer? Purchasing an operating system that is out of the SDLC means you will be required to make another purchase to upgrade to an operating system that supports the software you want to run.
  3. Examine packages for the operating system. Does the software you want to run for business or home fully function on the operating system? If you want to run Internet Explorer, you may want to purchase a Window’s operating system. There are virtual servers on the market that will enable you to run a Window’s operating system on a Linux or Solaris base system, but you want to revisit points 1 and 2.
  4. Examine security features. The name of the game in regard to e-business is security. How easy will it be for “hackers” to gain entry to your information through the security features of the operating system? Does the operating system come with a firewall and will you receive timely security updates?
  5. Examine hardware requirements. Will the operating system provide the functionality you require on your current system or will you need to invest in new hardware to run the operating system? RAM and hard drive upgrades are cheap in today’s market, but having to purchase dual-core processors and higher bus speeds to operate the system is not inexpensive.

These are a few of my suggestions for choosing an operating system. Personally, I have used Linux, Solaris, and Window’s. I prefer Linux because of its ease of installation and the control I receive over operations. Many Linux distributions are free and can easily be configured to provide a dual boot with Window’s operating systems.

I will be adding to my how-to section installation information that has worked for me in the past for a few of the Linux distributions I have used.

Poor E-Commerce Service

Friday, May 9th, 2008

I am very dissatisfied with Sears Service Center. I placed an online order this morning at 07:30 AM EST for an oven repair. I also received an email confirmation that a technician would be out between 8 AM and 5 PM on 5/9. Well, I recieved no callback and no technician.

I called customer service four times today to check on the status. Three times the person on the other end told me I would get a callback from the repair service center in regard to my appointment. The third person told me they would call back in five minutes. NO CALLBACK!

Now, I spent my entire day – 9 hours – waiting around for a repairperson that never came to my house. If I were smarter I should have called another company to have the oven repaired after the first time I did not receive a callback. Now, I have to go through the weekend with a broken oven due to your incompetence.

I will never use Sears or Kmart again for service. Next time you seek bankruptcy protection remember this complaint.

Mike Kniaziewicz