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Microsoft Free, One Year Later

Posted by kdawson on from the year-of-linux-on-the-desktop dept.

madgreek writes "Last year I wrote of my switch from XP to Ubuntu at work. Now a year later, I am back to reflect on one year of being extremely productive at work using (almost) nothing but open source software in a Microsoft world."

12 of 539 comments (clear)

  1. What I dont get.. by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I really fail to grasp why corporations (NOT individuals) fail to understand the ramifications of such EULAs and MS software contracts.

    Negotiating a seat deal with MS leads to a very nasty possible outcome: invasion by Business Software Alliance. If you refuse, you invalidate all your licenses... and they always find something "illegal". It's one thing to switch because of some perceived wrong or being high and mighty, but a corporation is a corporation. When it comes to software, they literally open themselves up for heavy liability if they accept MS and other COTS software.

    GPL means something else too: if you dont create software, you can ignore any "bad side effects". Only violators who refuse to share source are gone after. Usage is truly free of legal ramifications.

    --
    1. Re:What I dont get.. by robo_mojo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      But most people pay contractors to do it. And it costs a lot of money, and there's a lot of delays, troubles, etc. But eventually they feel happy and comfy.
      Just as people use existing software because they are incapable or otherwise unwilling to write their own, people pay contractors to build their houses because contractors know how to build houses and can probably do so a lot cheaper and faster than you.

      Of course, if a pipe breaks... when you built it yourself, you're the sole responsible for this.
      I hope you aren't suggesting that anyone takes responsibility for the software you're using when it breaks. Read your EULA or GPL lately? Clearly this isn't why people use existing software.
  2. Open Source is nice by Ux64 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    We used to use Windows at our corporation + only open source programs. It was quite natural to move from Windows to Ubuntu, because it was the only commercial program that we were using. We have been happy since. No license hazzle.

  3. over 45 days... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ... and my coworkers still have no idea that I switched to free software.

  4. Re:Linux has been business-desktop ready for years by jay-be-em · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Personally I'm very wary of installing random non-open-source apps on my desktop. I feel a lot better about something that is in the main Debian repository and more or less gpl compatible.

    Hell, check out that daemon tools page you linked:

    "Dear DAEMON Community,

    it come to our attention that someone released a fake DT PRO version that is
    contaminated with trojans and viruses, among the fact it is only a DT Lite and
    not a PRO version!

    We cant underscore enough how important it is that you always download from our
    official sites and affiliates!

    Nowadays, and with the popularity of DAEMON Tools, it is not unusual to see such
    attempts to harm others (and, after all, also our reputation).
    Rest assured: we double-check all uploads to our official sites and frequently check
    them further to make sure you get no harmfull viruses/trojans!"

    Frankly just googling and then downloading stuff that looks like it could help is bound to lead to a malware infested computer. One of the very clear things that good Linux distros have over Windows is the use of a centralized software repository.

    --
    "Orthodoxy means not thinking--not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness." --Eric Blair
  5. Re:Linux has been business-desktop ready for years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A major problem is that many companies have aging Access / Visual Basic applications and other custom made applications that are tied to Windows. WINE is an option of course, but some of them are probably so badly programmed that even Windows have problems running them...

  6. Microsoft free years later by EEPROMS · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I switched over to Linux around SuSE 6.0 days and to be honest I have never looked back. I now use Linux 100% at work and at home after doing a LPIC-101/102 course at my local college. This leads me into another funny story were I now have a whole branch of the company were I work at now running on Linux. The company has a Windows/OSX/Unix technical support contractor and because Linux has been so rock solid for us he didn't even know we had a branch here. This was simply because no one has ever rang him for help (and yes I have been away for weeks at a time).

  7. Sharepoint? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    He's just lucky that his company hasn't discovered Sharepoint yet. Once every important document that you need is locked up on a sharepoint server, than even OpenOffice isn't enough to work on them properly.

    It's Microsoft's best lock-in tool in years.

  8. WINE as workaround by Lonewolf666 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is a 100% Linux laptop and still I need to rely on wine and Vmware to use the applications I really want/need.

    As far as I can get the applications I want to run with WINE, I consider Linux desktop ready. WINE is technically a 3rd party app but easily enough available. Ubuntu actually has it as part of the distribution.
    --
    C - the footgun of programming languages
  9. Re:Linux has been business-desktop ready for years by laffer1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Good point. The linux community needs to target startups. If the businesses start with linux, maybe they'll get tied to FOSS. This will create a demand for linux software, and we might see replacements for some of the aging windows software so many businesses use.

    --
    MidnightBSD: The BSD for Everyone
  10. Re:Linux has been business-desktop ready for years by DMadCat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I work on the UNIX team in a large corporation and I can't get even them to switch to a linux desktop.

    It's like everyone is afraid of even looking at something they're not familiar with.

  11. Re:Linux has been business-desktop ready for years by ricegf · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Windows will be ready for the desktop when (1) I can change my hardware to suit my needs without needing a new key, (2) I can install all of the applications I use on a daily basis from a single dialog, and keep using the system without performance issues while they install, (3) I can install a working OS on my thumbdrive along with my documents, and carry it with me when I travel to use on any PC, (4) the user interface achieves some semblance of consistency and usability, and (5) plugging in a new hardware device doesn't require that I load a special CD first.

    Linux is ready - when will Windows be ready?