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Cherry on Linux
John Cherry is a long-time Linux advocate dedicated to facilitating the adoption of Linux in various markets. John has held positions with the OSDL and Linux Foundation.
NYT - Next Leap for Linux
October 4, 2007 |
This morning, the New York Times ran an article by Larry Magid called “Next Leap For Linux.”
After using the operating system for writing, Web surfing, graphic editing, movie watching and a few other tasks, it is easy to conclude that Linux can be an alternative to the major operating systems. But since common tasks like watching a movie or syncing an iPod require hunting for and installing extra software, Linux is best for technically savvy users or for people whose needs are so basic that they will never need anything other than the bundled software.
My only connection with this article is that when Larry Magid had difficulty playing a commercial DVD and getting his iPod to work, he came to me and we had a nice chat about the challenges in dealing with multimedia on an open and mostly free operating system. In discussions with my frends at commercial Linux distos, I discovered that no distro offers out-of-the-box support for commercial DVD playback yet. However, distros like Linspire and Ubuntu will provide DVD options via CNR technology where customers can purchase a DVD player, download and install with one-click. The CNR alpha is available now. For a small fee, users will be able to purchase and install a fully licensed commercial DVD player at the click of a mouse button. Xandros, for instance, has a relationship with a commercial DVD software vendor that runs on Linux and this software can be purchased via Xandros Networks.
The basic issue in playing commercial DVDs is DRM (digital rights management). On the DRM issue there really is no good answer for this as far as I know. MS and Apple have not licensed DRM technology to Linux vendors. MS has licenced WMV and WMA to several vendors and most distros can also provide this support. But the DRM component is excluded from Linux vendors offerings. So if the content is encrypted with Digital Rights Management it cannot be played on stock Linux systems.
Getting Larry’s iPod to sync was a piece of cake. Since I use Banshee and I was familiar with it, we simply downloaded Banshee and everything just worked. When the iPod was plugged in to the USB port, the device was recognized immediately and appeared as an icon on the desktop as well as in the application. Since I have simply ripped my CD collection, I did not have to deal with any encrypted media formats. The really cool thing about using my iPod on Linux was that I could load the contents of my iPod onto the fresh linux installation and synchronize the iPod in both directions. On Windows/MAC (with iTunes), you are limited to just synchronizing one way (PC to iPod). Besides just being cool, this bidirectional synchronization provides an easy way to backup the contents of your iPod anywhere that Linux is running!
If you are not currently a Linux user, you are probably cautious about leaving an operating system that you have used for years. At least you know how to work around all the warts. However, there are some really cool things about the Linux desktop that might make you change your mind about giving it a try. I’ll list just a few.
- It is free! As a wise philosopher once said, “Free is a very good price.” But the main advantage of zero cost is that it costs you nothing to give it a try. You can either run Linux from a live CD without impacting your current desktop at all, or you can install it on your disk right along with Windows. Ubuntu actually provides an option to resize the Windows stuff to make room for Linux. When you are done, you can boot either Windows or Linux. Pretty cool.
- Application installation is amazing. Has your Windows desktop ever crashed? When you re-installed Windows, you had to find all of those installation disks, installation instructions, and authentication codes to be able to rebuild your system. With Linux desktop systems, you simply go to the add/remove menu, select the applications that you were using, and go have a cup of coffee while everything installs itself. A side bonus is that you will be installing all the latest and greatest versions of these applications. AND…did I mention you have literally hundreds of applications to choose from in categories like Accessibility, Accessories, Education, Games, Graphics, Internet, Office, Programming, Etc.? Just exploring these applications will give you hours of entertainment.
- Application updates rock. This is as cool as installation. You are notified when when new versions of applications, tools, libraries, etc. are available (usually on a little icon on the toolbar). You can choose whether you want to stay with what you have or upgrade to the latest version. If, for some reason, you want to return to an older version, no problem. The package managers handle this as well.
- Regular upgrades are no-brainers. How long is it between major Windows releases? It can be anywhere between 3 and 7 years! The dynamic and open nature of the Linux operating system allows Linux distros to release new operating systems every year and usually with one or two minor releases during that timeframe. You don’t have to wait anymore for the latest and greatest in desktop computing.
- All the applications you generally need. Yes, I realize that you have probably grown accustomed to some of the applications that run on Windows. Did you know that many of them also run on Linux? For instance, Firefox (browser), Open Office (office suite), Thunderbird (mail client), Inkscape (scalable graphics editor), Picasa (photo manager), and Google Earth (maps/satelite) all run on Linux as well as Windows. And if you don’t find your favorite application on Linux, the chances are good that something equivalent or even better exists in those hundreds of freely available applications (mentioned earlier).
- Superior iPod support. I mentioned this one earlier, but the two-way synchronization as well as the drag/drop iPod loading is pretty cool and easy to use. It is definitely not true that you have run on Windows or MAC OS to take advantage of your iPod.
- Pre-installed Linux is becoming a reality! Many of you would just like to go to your local computer outlet and purchase a computer that already runs Linux. Keep your eyes open and you will see new pre-installed Linux products from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and who knows which other vendors will take the plunge.
Did I mention it was free? Larry agreed.
“There is the price: Linux is free, or nearly so.”
“Unlike Windows from Microsoft and OS X from Apple, Linux is not owned, updated or controlled by a single company. Thousands of developers around the world work on Linux, making improvements and issuing new versions several times a year. Because the core Linux software is open source, these developers have the right — some would say responsibility — to borrow from one another’s work, constantly looking for enhancements.”
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“I realize that you have probably grown accustomed to some of the applications that run on Windows. Did you know that many of them also run on Linux? For instance, Firefox (browser), Open Office (office suite), Thunderbird (mail client), Inkscape (scalable graphics editor), Picasa (photo manager), and Google Earth (maps/satelite) all run on Linux as well as Windows. And if you don’t find your favorite application on Linux, the chances are good that something equivalent or even better exists in those hundreds of freely available applications…”
That’s the problem with Linux: most or all of the (free) Linux applications are just as free for Windows, so (free) app software is really a push dollarwise for the penny pincher.
I already use Picassa, Google Earth and Open Office (though it is awful software, unfit to actually be used in a business) on my Windows computers. The comparable stuff came preinstalled at no charge and is just fine, and I could get other stuff for free that is just as good.
But I can’t find a decent file manager or GUI for Linux, which is a problem because that’s where I live when I’m working, and really excellent software and many of the specialty programs I need — that my clients insist upon me using — are not available at any price for Linux. I could have both, but where’s the savings in that? And I don’t have time to learn like 800 pages of commands and arguments that are available in Linux but fully masterable with the mouse under Windows, meaning no memorizing anything.
The upshot is that the only real dollar savings from Linux is the OS itself, and from any downtime and vulnerabilities that Windows engenders. As for the latter, since we really don’t know what the ramifications are of a major Linux attack defended only by a volunteer force, it is hard to know where one is really better off.
And as for the former, the cost of learning how to install it (if the finickiness of many computers lets you install it) and retraining employees (and then having to pay them more after retraining them on new software) and the extra time on such mundane tasks as installing and apt-getting new software (a nearly impossible job on a non-Internet or dial up computer) is bound to eat up any dollars the user expects to keep in his pocket.
And that is before dealing with unsupported or undersupported peripherals and miscellaneous headaches of trying to get disks and devices to function.
The casual computer user — the non-IT guy who doesn’t want or need to get under the hood — should still keep his distance from Linux, and Linux fans shouldn’t be in denial over that.
In my experience with in the last few years using Linux exclusively I’ve seen major strides in many areas. 3 or 4 years ago I think one of the biggest debates between Linux and windows/mac was most likely the ease of use, the learning curve. And in some ways it is still the same there is a lot more of a leaning curve between Linux and windows, but every day Linux becomes simpler easier to understand and less complicated to update and install.
I have to disagree with Rod on a few points. The first with Open Office being unfit to be used in a Business. Feature for feature open office and the other commercial office suites are about the same. Where there is a big difference is the simple fact that it is a different office suite, and you do the same things differently in Open Office than you would in MS office.
In the same way Linux is much the same when compared to Windows. I’ve worked as a day to day hour to hour in house technical support technician, in a Business setting that deployed multiple Microsoft products. As much as we would like to say that Windows is easier to use and that windows is more user friendly, I’m not so sure about that anymore. A lot of the people out there in the real world would struggle to use KDE or Gnome just as much as they would struggle to use Windows. In my own experience i don’t think there would be much a difference at all between showing someone how to use a GUI in Linux to get to get a file out of the server aka teaching them, and doing the exact same thing in Windows. Showing them how to change printers from the one in their office to the Xerox in the lobby.
Sometimes when I worked that job I wished that we deployed Linux for the simple fact that these less than computer literate people tended to collect computer viruses like it was their job. I spent so much time reinstalling reconfiguring and virus cleaning their computers that before I left the company I considered pitching to management the idea of migrating all the desktops to Linux. It was in my opinion that the hour or so it would have taken me to train someone to do their day to day work on a Linux machine would completely make up for the countless hours I spent trying to repair their machines.
I would also like to remind people that though there are less Linux viruses out there than there are Windows viruses that Linux permissions act in such a way that makes accidentally installing a virus to system files not very likely. And your average Linux user account is a lot less likely to damage the system files and really can only mess up some basic user configurations or loose some personal data. To do anything that could actually effect the system itself beyond your own personal data you would need root permissions. And thats something that your average “less than computer literate person” doesn’t need.
In my opinion if you are going to deploy Linux in a Corporate setting that you really need to have someone that knows Linux. A good Linux Systems administrator can manage 100s if not 1000s of machines. Besides the Administrative side of a Business Network you can’t really keep throwing out the same “linux is harder to use” excuse. Because it’s not it is just different. Is it harder to administer a Linux network compared to a Windows network? In a perfect world probably yes. But I know we can all agree that your average windows user in a business/corporate environment will probably do some damage to the system at some point in time. Ask any Systems Administrator how many times they had to reinstall Windows for someone that messed up their machine to the point that they really didn’t want to spend the time and fix it and just formatted the drive and started over again. In my opinion it wont take long to train someone to be able to use Linux with a graphical logon and a good GUI and to train them on the software they need to do their job. That really the worst case scenario is probably physical damage to the computer spilling coffee or something.
The worst they could do to the OS is probably loose personal data, which will happen just as easily in Windows, and possibly mess up some configurations. And all the administrator has to do to restore the configurations is have a USB stick and keep a copy of the Gnome Configurations folder, the KDE folder, the OpenOffice configuration or the configuration files of whatever software has been deployed to the employees of their company. Or more than likely do it over the network remotely login and copy over the files tell them to simply reboot if needed to make it simple or to log out and in or whatever simple action they need to take. It wouldn’t take much most likely a simple reboot would be easiest. It’s not like your going to want to explain to someone how to restart certain services on their desktop. Thats not really something they are going to mess up.
Then you could get to the fact of specialty programs or whatnot. In my experience a lot of the specialty programs are easily run with wine, and if not there are multiple other solutions that circumvent that problem.
Business is about money, as more people are learning to use Linux and these different solutions to the migration problems, its not that difficult to prove to management how going open source either in part or fully open source, can and will save 10’s of 1000s of $ a year.
On the topic of keeping the Linux Desktops upgraded. With proper package management and a competent Administrator, it could take less time overall to manage a Linux network than a windows.
even a more difficult to upgrade Distribution such as Gentoo Linux, can easily circumvent this problem by making a list of upgraded packages hosing them on a server and doing a simple /emerge -U “package_name” on the desktop or even logged in remotely would connect to the server and find and install the appropriate packages, without problem.
Long story short, Linux is not as usable out of the box as windows is. But once properly deployed to a Business or Corporate environment It definitely has its pros. The only real drawback is that an the administrative side of a Linux network you really need a systems administrator that knows what they are doing. But even in a windows network your average windows user wont know how to administer a windows network.
People talk about lack of support in Linux compared to that of Windows, but in my opinion a development server or a development desktop or two, to find those upgrade problems and iron them out before you go live will help. Combine that with some basic knowledge about the hardware that you are going to need or hardware that you have, you can 99.99995% avoid any problems with upgrading.
Yes some hardware is not supported in linux. But if you run a linux network with linux desktops, you can always just buy the hardware that works. And concerning new top of the line hardware, unless your in a specialty field your business is not going to buy the brand new 1500$ overclocked videocard from nvidia or the next generation super nuclear, individually monopole pixel, comes with ESP mind reading Monitor/mouse combo. You’re probably going to find that new printer you picked up from staples is going to work fine, or simply by choosing a scanner that works fine with Linux your not going to have a problem there either. Your not going to have the choices that you have with windows but your not going to be missing out on anything either.