I got an email from someone who commented that her company was reluctant
to switch to Linux because of the "learning curve". I thought some of
you might be interested in my reply, if you run into this type of thing
in your company.
----- Forwarded message from Paul M Foster <paulf@quillandmouse.com> -----
From: Paul M Foster <paulf@quillandmouse.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2004 23:03:22 -0500
Subject: Re: Desktop Linux
...
Lycoris is only one of a new breed of Linux flavors that promise to be
an easier transition for Windows users. There is also Xandros, Lindows,
Mepis and possibly one or two others. As for eval copies, I would
suggest you contact the companies involved directly, through their
websites or by phone if they offer phone numbers.
Linux distributions like this (especially ones that run the KDE desktop)
are not that different visually from Windows. So that's not really an
issue. There are other things to keep in mind when researching a
possible switch to Linux.
1. Your IT/MIS people have to be familiar with setting up Linux systems
on the clients. This is quite a bit different from Windows systems.
Linux is far more accessible and transparent to an IT person. That is,
under Windows, you never know what all Windows is doing, and it is
sometimes difficult to determine how to change its behavior. This is not
true for Linux. It is possible to adjust most aspects of a running Linux
box, and determine exactly what it's doing at any time. This type of
expertise does require some training or experience. But that's a minor
expense, comparatively speaking.
2. Your users must get used to the idea of running a machine that is
inherently multi-user. Windows is not inherently multi-user. On most
Windows boxes, particularly Windows 98 and earlier, it's one user one
box. On Linux systems, there is the root/superuser, and whatever other
users you wish to add to it. From a practical standpoint, this means
that users need to get used to entering passwords for some things.
3. Since Microsoft has declared itself an avowed foe of Linux and
similar software, they are not likely to port their applications to the
Linux platform. That means it is left up to the Open Source community to
come up with alternatives. In some cases, this has been done. In others,
it is not. For example, office suites like Open Office, KOffice and Star
Office serve as adequate substitutes for Microsoft Office. But for
something like Quicken, there isn't an adequate substitute yet. And
since Linux only holds about 5% of the desktop market, other companies
like Adobe and Macromedia have been slow (or completely reluctant) to
invest the money to port their packages. So, for example, there is
nothing like Dreamweaver for Linux. Their are HTML editors and such,
they just aren't Dreamweaver. Retraining people on things like Open
Office should not cost much at all. But for some other programs, it
could cost more, where the Linux substitute is substantially different
from the Windows program.
4. In some cases of newer hardware, Linux has not developed drivers yet.
While Microsoft engineers get paid to come up with Windows drivers for
hardware, Linux programmers do not. Consequently, sometimes Linux can be
slightly behind the curve when it comes to new hardware.
5. Some companies balk at what they perceive as the lack of support
alternatives for Linux, or the inability to assign blame to a single
entity in the event of a problem. However, many companies exist to
support Linux. And while you can't point a finger at them when Linux
"doesn't work", they can often work directly with developers to resolve
problems quickly.
6. There are cost benefits to Linux that have to weigh against whatever
retraining costs you find.
6a. Linux systems can run on significantly less powerful hardware. This
means that older computer systems can be retained longer.
6b. It's documented that among ISPs who run a mix of Windows and Linux
servers, it takes significantly fewer support staff to support the same
number of Linux boxes. These people run servers for blood every day.
Their in-the-trenches experience is worth paying attention to.
6c. Linux systems are far less prone to catastrophic failure than
Windows systems. Practically, this means fewer reboots and less loss
of user data and less employee down time.
6d. Version cycles in Open Source software are significantly shorter
than with proprietary software. That means that there are new versions
of software coming out all the time, in fact daily. This doesn't mean
you have to update that often. But it does mean that bugs are likely to
get fixed far quicker under Linux than Windows.
6e. Where bugs show up, it is within the power of the IT people in your
organization to repair the software themselves. This is because most or
all of the software you will run will be Open Source; you have the
source code available to you. While your IT people may not wish to hack
software, the opportunity is available.
6f. Security is far stronger under Linux. There are several reasons for
this. First, the source code is available, and hundreds, if not
thousands of people are looking at it every day. Bugs and security holes
get handled quickly. With Windows, you only know about an exploit either
a) after you've already been attacked, or b) six months later, when
Microsoft releases a patch. The foremost security experts in the world
are unequivocal: Open Source = better security. In addition, Linux does
not have things like VBScript and email clients like Outlook, which have
become veritable magnets for viruses, worms and the like. It is not
possible to infect a Linux machine with an email virus. Moreover, since
the typical user on a Linux box does not run as the root/superuser, but
only as an unprivileged user, any damage to the box from some possible
exploit is generally limited to the user's private files, not to the box
as a whole. Viruses and worms made possible by the way Microsoft has
built its OS have cost businesses worldwide in the billions of dollars.
Linux systems cannot be exploited this way, by virtue of the way the OS
is put together.
6g. Linux does not have to worry about Boards of Directors, quarterly
reports and stock prices. Consequently, there's no incentive to cover up
things that are broken, don't work or have security problems. The
development process is transparent. This also means that Linux won't be
going out of business any time soon. Linux has been around for over ten
years, and promises to continue to provide new and improved software in
the far foreseeable future. It also means that you're not paying someone
like Microsoft on a regular basis to give you the newest version of
their software. You can obtain new versions of Linux or Linux software
for little or no money at any time.
6h. Microsoft operating systems run in the hundreds of megabytes of
source code, none of which you can look at. Windows started out as
MSDOS, and it still retains vestiges of that legacy to this day. There
is code deep within Windows that has been there for years, unexamined
and unchanged. It bloats Windows and makes it difficult for Microsoft to
engineer their OSes with more robustness. The Linux kernel (the true
guts of a Linux system), on the other hand, is being constantly examined
and updated. Old pieces of code that are poorly designed are frequently
reworked, making way for better performance, more stability, and
stronger security. New kernel versions appear weekly.
I hope this helps to better understand the costs and benefits of
switching to Linux. Company executives may be reluctant to switch to
Linux because of the "learning curve". But even with its shortcomings,
Linux makes its own strong case for saving management and stockholders
time and money in the long run.
Paul M. Foster
President
Suncoast Linux Users Group (SLUG)
----- End forwarded message -----
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