| W. Chris Shank on 27 Oct 2004 23:57:02 -0000 |
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This is the first time I've posted for a while, we've been pretty busy here. Anyhow, I wanted to relate a story/situation regarding Linux, it's use, and it's perception as a business ready operating system. DSICLAIMER: This is a rant and probably not worth your time reading. We were recently contacted by a small company currently running about a dozen FC2 desktops and server. They had been running RH7.2 and upgraded to FC2 sometime within the last few months. Their server is more or less ok, but their desktops aren't. Apparently RH7.2 was working fine but their current setup is a mess. None of the apps are integrated well, printers rarely work, users are forced to use the command line to switch printing, openoffice defaults are bad, none of the mozilla plugins work well, I could go on. Basically everyone is pissed because they are inundated with problems - their computers are downright unproductive right now. The current maintainer is obviously way over his head regarding how to really configure these systems. Since I haven't touched Fedora in a while, I suspect much of their problem has to do with Fedora being only a half an implementation - the real one being saved for $$RedHat. But I'm not really sure. Anyway, the current perception at this company is that this "Linux" thing is a joke, or just crappy, or a fraud being perpetrated by zealots. The current maintainer is on his way out the door (literally) - so the owners are looking to "fix" their mess and migrating to Windows is one option they are seriously considering. I hope we can keep them from doing that - but they are pretty badly burned over this fiasco. So the real meat of my posting here is how something like this can really hurt any chance Linux has for desktop adoption. The person who set this up obviously meant well but just didn't have the knowledge to execute well. I have to wonder how many other companies have "played" with some half configured Linux and deemed it not enterprise ready? I really don't have a point here btw- just venting. I know that desktop Linux can work - but I've also learned that it's not Windows and can't be treated like Windows. Every one of our clients uses Linux in some capacity - even on the desktop - so we know it works. But for companies like these folks, I wonder if it's even possible to get the bad taste out of their mouth at this point? And worse than that - I'm certain they will spread their bad experience with Linux with their friends and colleagues. This only continues to make it difficult to get businesses to consider Linux. I guess if I have a point - it's that bringing Linux into a company and failing to give it the chance it deserves is 100 times worse than letting Windows remain. Even with Windows XP, I'm not bothered if my clients want to install that - because I know they will begin to see pressure to migrate with 2 years - and who knows where Linux will be by then. So I guess I'm asking that if you are a newbie or a server guru - and you want to bring desktop Linux into your company - do it smartly or refrain. People have high expectations from a modern desktop operating system. If you aren't prepared to give them the equivalent or better experience to what they have or are used to, don't do it. If you want to play and learn - go for it - but don't force it on someone who just want to read email and play the Ashley Simpson Benny Hill remix video. Let them have Windows for now and concentrate on getting them to use the OSS software that is available for Windows. That's my rant for the year.
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