[Linux-pe] OT: Opportunity knocks

[Michael Hughes]

On Tue, Dec 9, 2008 at 2:45 AM, barsalou <barjunk at attglobal.net> wrote:
> Quoting Michael Hughes <itismike at gmail.com>:
>
>> I'll byte ;-)  I hope to soon be in a position to introduce several
>> FOSS packages into a reasonably large university community.  I'm
>> looking at VLC, Pidgin, Firefox, QuicktimeAlternative (or K-Lite:
>> neither are entirely FOSS, but both are more attractive than the
>> original), PDFforge, and of course OO (installed parallel to MS Office
>> to ease the transition.)
>>
>> I doubt we'll ever be able to introduce a FOSS OS, because a
>> substantial # of courses teach MS apps and system architecture, and
>> we're economically encouraged to participate in the MEEC Agreement
>> which covers OS the whole campus. There are also several critical web
>> apps which require IE.
>>
> What stops you from using something like VirtualBox or Xen?  Why not a
> Windows terminal server instead of Windows workstations?
>
> Needing IE shouldn't stop you from deploying Linux on the desktop.  The
> costs for virus and patches alone could be worth staying with a Linux
> workstation.
>
> Have you seen IE4linux?
>
> http://www.tatanka.com.br/ies4linux/page/Main_Page
>
> Just some ideas.
>
> Mike B.
>
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>

Hi Mike,

I've seen IE4Linux and it is attractive, but I suspect the heavy use
of Active-X for some of our production applications will be a
show-stopper.  I wasn't part of the decision to stick w/full desktops
vs. Sun thinclients, but if it comes up again I intend to make a
serious case for them.

The virtual environment is not realistic because our hardware specs
are several generations old.  I've been very impressed w/KVM on new
boxes, and use VirtualBox on a daily basis, but we don't have
beefy-enough hardware to support either.  There is also a considerable
cost in training users to transition to Linux.

But a more crippling issue is that  there is a general stigma (read:
ignorance) in the IT department regarding Linux because it is viewed
as a 'hacking tool' rather than a serious contender as a desktop OS.
I think the fact that there are so many different flavors available
(several of which _are_ geared toward more 'creative efforts') is seen
as a risk.  The amount of distrust and FUD, even between similar
departments, is enough to make the morning commute dreadful, but my
dept. is progressive enough on it's own that I enjoy the job very
much.

As I said, I'm interested in playing a part in guiding the uni toward
being more accepting of FOSS, but Linux on the desktop is not within
sight.

-Mike


-- 

Dwight L. Moody  - "I have had more trouble with myself than with any
other man I've met."