__/ [ Mark Kent ] on Wednesday 18 April 2007 17:59 \__
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> Progress toward Linux on the desktop
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>| Is Linux on the desktop in your future? Momentum in the enterprise is
>>| slowly building for "the march of the penguin." (Please forgive me...I
>>| love puns!)
>>|
>>| [...]
>>|
>>| Last month, HP revealed that it is involved in "a number of massive
>>| deals for Linux desktops" and called such deals "an indicator of
>>| critical mass." This is according to Doug Small, the worldwide
>>| director of open source and Linux marketing at HP. Small cited a
>>| potential sale that could put thousands of Linux-based HP desktops
>>| into an enterprise organization.
>> `----
>>
>> http://www.linuxworld.com/newsletters/techexec/2007/0416techexec1.html
>>
>> Prepare for GNU/Linux action from H-P. It might not be just Dell.
>>
>
> This is so inevitable, it's scary. There is positively zero reason
> for sticking with Windows on a desktop at all, particularly as it locks
> down all kinds of things, including the upgrade cycle for the hardware,
> interoperability, appallingly bad peripheral support (drivers). Linux,
> contrarily, still supports hardware from the pre-Win3.1 era to good
> effect. There is still a basic VGA driver in xorg, and it probably still
> supports the old cga and ega cards too, although I've not specifically
> looked that up recently - certainly X11R6 did.
>
> From a management viewpoint, you can readily tailor your desktop
> machines to the users in question - terminal users can be limited to
> user-mode only, with root access limited to administrators. 100% of
> administration can be done over the network, so virtually zero need to
> have physical presence for admin purposes. No anti-virus worries
> because no significant virus risk, and all patches are available in a
> timely fashion. Capable scripting people can do mass upgrades if
> required.
>
> Power users, eg., competent managers and technicians can be give sudo
> access to some functions, perhaps to install packages from internal
> respositories, say.
>
> Competent admin types like researchers, programmers, engineers,
> scientists and so on can be given root access to their machines so that
> they can maintain them themselves.
>
> The last elements of Microsoft's lock-in are more or less eliminated
> now; printing using cups is amazingly simple, works 100% cross-platform
> - my new Samsung CLP550N is excellent, and comes with a CUPs PPD file,
> does colour and duplex out of the box - really simple. The linux and
> mac machines detect it automatically so it is more or less zero
> config.
>
> KDE and OO.o interface very well to cups, too.
>
> I think the one area which hasn't settled on a standard (like ODF, say)
> is the groupware space. A little more standardisation work there, and
> we will have properly scalable diarying and similar applications, and
> life will be very very good.
Microsoft's last weapon (acts of deparation) are software patents that
related to some of the interoperability bits above. Of course, if they ever
unleash this weapon, many more people will boycott them. They are not far
from gaining an SCO-like reputation at this stage. Just recall Ballmer's
constant ranting and threats. Does more harm than good, due to alienation.
--
~~ With kind regards
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Quote when replying in non-real-time dialogues"
http://Schestowitz.com | Free as in Free Beer ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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