Slashdot Mirror
Linux & the Business Desktop
Ulwarth writes: "Desktop Linux is running a feature documenting a mid-sized company switching to Linux on the desktop, like the City of Largo but this time in a corporate environment. Proof that it can be done - at least for businesses which need only the 'standard' office apps."
I like the way that they describe the practical side of the transition - i.e., moving new users over instead of people comfortable to sit on the top of the learning curve that they've already scaled.
My outfit is looking at Linux desktops in a more scientific and engineering environment.
But we share a similar need to deal with the ubiquitous .doc, .xls and .ppt files that are endemic in the corporate world.
I like their setup with KDE, but I've thought that using Evolution would be a nicer MUA.
It's great they can do so well with StarOffice 5.2 that has its share of glitches and user interface problems.
If only StarOffice 6 would finally come out!
I believe that single product, SO 6, with updated filters for the aforementioned "standard" file formats and non-monolithic user interface, will do more to unleash a flood of Linux desktop migration than any other single product (unless AOL 9.0 includes Linux).
"Provided by the management for your protection."
I run linux on all my desktops, I also run vmware with windows on it for office work. Since vmware/win2k/office2k currently uses less cpu than staroffice I'll stick with this. Works well, especially when windows has to reboot...
Singapore Civil Service considers switching to free Office Suites. Staroffice is a leading contender.
"There is a terrorist behind every bush"
Ximian Evolution is an Outlook replacement. To use it with Exchange 2000, you may need the Exchange connector.
*Shameless Plug*
I am currently helping out on a project that is very comparable to Exchange. It's PHPGroupWare and it's evolving quite quickly.
It is all web-based for now(some people are working on xml-rpc).
It supports:
The applications are all modular, so they can be added and removed, and it's a very cool project. Check it out.
Our company has been hit by the recession relatively heavily -- our main product is a "luxury" item for most businesses -- so when we decided to finally put our salesman on computers and enter the 21st century, I suggested Linux desktops. I was met with some quizzical looks, but once I demoed my desktop and mentioned the key word "free," I was given the go-ahead.
The idea is that there is only a steep learning curve for Linux if you're switching from another OS; if you've never used anything, there's no adjustment. Unlike the article's writer, though, we went with Gnome, for one huge reason: Evolution. Just like Outlook is key for businessmen who run Windows, Evolution makes keeping track of contacts, appointments, etc. a breeze for our salesmen. They do basic word processing with Abiword, look at some spreadsheets with Gnumeric, and browse the web with Galeon.
I think what it comes down to is Linux's main strength is choice. My users do lots of planning, organizing, etc., so I centered their desktops around Evolution. TrustCommerce's people for the most part do very basic email, but a lot more document work, so their desktops are based around OpenOffice.
Two more things: The killer app is gtcd. I cannot convey in words how amazed new users are when they put a cd in and the cd player looks up the tracklisting. (Yes, I realize many Windows cd players do this. Yes, I realize the new version of MP that comes with ME & above do this.) The other thing is that using Debian makes it all worthwhile. I mirror sid (the distribution we use) on the file server, which updates every night, and then when I upgrade workstations it goes over our 100Mb network. I cannot begin to describe how much easier my job is doing ssh workstation; apt-get update ; apt-get upgrade than walking around to desks and doing Windows Update.
If it ain't broke, you need more software.
Yes,
Mandrake uses urpmi and it does just what cavemanf16 described. urpmi is a tool mostly like Debian's apt-get . You do :
# urpmi gabber
and it will install the latest Gabber with its required libraries.
All from RPMs. And it has a GUI front-end called rpmdrake / MandrakeUpdate that let's you upgrade your system to latest security patch with the de facto, windows-like standard Click Next to continue kind of thing.
Man! I love Mandrake for this. And it is also a hell of a nice desktop!
Er, as the author of the article, I'm going to have to disagree with your assertation here. Search for the word "install" in Part II and you'll see that I only mention two install complaints: WordPerfect, which we chose not to use anyway; and StarOffice, which installs just fine, it just uses an annoying Windows-style "wizard" instead of a clean rpm install.