6 ms·

The idea that there is going to be some sort of rapid change to Linux desktop is wrong, simply because people forget that windows desktops are used by corporat

The idea that there is going to be some sort of rapid change to Linux desktop is wrong, simply because people forget that windows desktops are used by corporations and government, almost to the exclusion of any other OS. That is where the oems make the most money, at least in terms of chunks. Canonical and Steam are going after the personal computer, but nobody seems to be making inroads in the corporate desktop world. Everything runs on Windows, often exclusively on Windows. Converting to Ubuntu is a big leap away from windows xp. And the CTO is not the boss. Marketing knows power point and word and Excel, they don't want to learn libreoffice. Not to mention that there are all sorts of weird industry requirements. Look at doctors converting to electronic records. Show me a vendor with a linux based solution that meets hipaa requirements. Or consider checkout computers, which may process credit cards, which have regulatory requirements. Stop talking desktops and build a easy way to convert businesses. It won't be easy to build though. Get approval from regulatory bureaucracies, get every company department either willing to switch or with a super easy virtualization solution, get it ready to support it, make sure any custom software can be ported, handle the conversion. Make sure business partners can still work with you. Oh and RETRAIN EVERYBODY. Having heard how much people fight converting to windows 7 from xp, you are going to have a struggle to get it done. But if you do all that, then maybe linux will have a Turning point.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
bad_user 13y ago
That's the same thing people said about iOS. The argument is completely flawed because people in companies do get to choose the software, however for driving the change the demand has to be really high, otherwise the cost of switching or of having a heterogeneous work environment is simply not worth it. People in companies use Windows XP and MS Office because that's what they use at home. Even if they have Windows 7 at home, they can tolerate Windows XP at work, because it's basically the same thing. Change is coming though. I work on a startup. I have no doubt in my mind that some day we'll be big. And we standardized on Ubuntu. Usage of OS X is only allowed for people that know their way around with whatever development stack we need, because all the documentation for setup and usage of stuff is written for Ubuntu. If they have problems, tough luck, but OS X is unsupported. People wanting to use OS X also need to buy their own personal Macbook. And usage of Windows is only allowed inside of virtual machines. You know, some of us growing up on Unix might end up running the show inside those big companies that are impeding change.
- metaobject 13y ago
  Yep, I work for a large corporation that uses windows, however, our group is 100% Linux - servers and desktops - because of the kind of software that we write. If we were made to switch to Windows, it would be disastrous. So, there are pockets of Linux-based groups out there in the corporate world, and the question is: can those pockets grow?
- thedrbrian 13y ago
  But people wanted iOS and the iPhones and I doubt they really cared it was a new OS. It was better than everything before it and you didn't need to learn a whole new OS every time you got a new phone. I doubt Janice from accounts is going to be able to or want to use Linux. " what's a Linux and why do I want one? "
- lsiebert 13y ago
  You work at a startup... of course you innovate. But you still mandate expectations on what OS people can use, albeit ones that are different from many companies.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

bad_user 13y ago

That's the same thing people said about iOS. The argument is completely flawed because people in companies do get to choose the software, however for driving the change the demand has to be really high, otherwise the cost of switching or of having a heterogeneous work environment is simply not worth it. People in companies use Windows XP and MS Office because that's what they use at home. Even if they have Windows 7 at home, they can tolerate Windows XP at work, because it's basically the same thing. Change is coming though. I work on a startup. I have no doubt in my mind that some day we'll be big. And we standardized on Ubuntu. Usage of OS X is only allowed for people that know their way around with whatever development stack we need, because all the documentation for setup and usage of stuff is written for Ubuntu. If they have problems, tough luck, but OS X is unsupported. People wanting to use OS X also need to buy their own personal Macbook. And usage of Windows is only allowed inside of virtual machines. You know, some of us growing up on Unix might end up running the show inside those big companies that are impeding change.

metaobject 13y ago
Yep, I work for a large corporation that uses windows, however, our group is 100% Linux - servers and desktops - because of the kind of software that we write. If we were made to switch to Windows, it would be disastrous. So, there are pockets of Linux-based groups out there in the corporate world, and the question is: can those pockets grow?
thedrbrian 13y ago
But people wanted iOS and the iPhones and I doubt they really cared it was a new OS. It was better than everything before it and you didn't need to learn a whole new OS every time you got a new phone. I doubt Janice from accounts is going to be able to or want to use Linux. " what's a Linux and why do I want one? "
lsiebert 13y ago
You work at a startup... of course you innovate. But you still mandate expectations on what OS people can use, albeit ones that are different from many companies.