Where is Largest Linux Desktop Install?

jackb_guppy asks: "Talking with Managers about Linux Training for staff. One asked a simple question: 'Where is the largest installed base of Linux desktops?' My guess the question was asked prove that there is no market, and I am unable to find an answer. I am guessing the next question will be: 'Largest site using Linux to replace MS desktops?' Anyone have a suggestion?" Just for fun, if any of you have Linux Desktops deployed in your department, can you give us some numbers?

Comments

Why so different

[Anonymous Coward]

One question I would have is, why was the experience that you had so vastly different from the one described in the florida government? There they seemed to make good use of it and had few problems transitioning employees to the new system. I'm thinking that perhaps there is a strategy that does work well for deploying Linux in a business environment if the right approach is taken.

I'm a bit baffled about some of what you are describing. When X died, you say they'd hit reset and then fsck would take out half their filesystem? I see a few things here that don't make sense:

1) why was X dying? I've never had X die except in the rarest occasions or more routinely on systems I had really futzed with.

2) why would fsck cause damage to half their filesystem? while I've on occasion hit reset or powered down without a proper shutdown I have never had fsck cause any damage to my filesystem. Furthermore, if that was a concern, a journaling FS like XFS could have solved your problem.

3) why were newbies having to "figure out" the desktop? what kind of training did you give them?

4) you say you kept trying several combinations. wouldn't that tend to lead to increased confusion about and disdain for the new environment? seems like picking one thing after careful evaluation and sticking with it would solve some headdache.

5) If your bank requires IE, maybe you should consider a new bank? I mean that may seem drastic, but if they are uncapable of supporting the system your business wants to use, I'm sure another bank would be happy to hold on to your money.

When you look at the setup they used in Florida, they made a very strong point of making it simple for the users. They eliminated a lot of unneeded and potentially confusing funcationality, and they did an apparent good job of figuring out what they really needed to have to do the work they wanted to do.

Basically what it boils down to is that I get the sense that Linux is capable of being on the office desktop if it is implemented in a way that conforms to its benefits and drawbacks. You will have some initial training investment because it's different from what most people use, but there's no evidence I've seen to indicate that it's a fundamentally unusable OS in that space.

Re:Reality

[Black Parrot]

> A few months ago we tried to move the 15 non-technical employees (receptionists, accounting, etc.) to a Linux desktop... The result? They hated it, and productivity went down fast.

Fire their asses. I know lots of dumbfuk secretaries who used to do just fine running their applications from a DOS prompt. Ditto for clerks working from a VMS prompt. Anyone who can't deal with the spiffy new Linux desktops is suffering from a bad case of dont-want-to.

> We couldn't find a non-IE browser that would work with our bank's site

Sounds like you need to talk to your banker. They're not very technically adept, but they do understand things like "take our account to another bank".