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Our Blogs Open Sauce From Windows to Linux - and back again
Our Blogs Open Sauce From Windows to Linux - and back again | From Windows to Linux - and back again |
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| by Sam Varghese | |
| Tuesday, 19 February 2008 | |
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Page 3 of 3 Complaints about the Linux system were there in varying degrees from the beginning of the switch in 2001 but when all staff got laptops at the end of 2007, it spelt the end of Linux desktops at the school. The laptops came with Windows and Office installed - this was not negotiable. And then came the direction that the school PCs, those used in the classroom, were to be identical to the set-up of the laptops. Featured Whitepaper
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Perkins says he is not an operating systems fanatic but adds that he found some real plus points with the Linux systems. Administration work was much less, there was very little downtime, and there were no viruses. All he had to do was to change the odd keyboard or mouse. Updating was not a disruptive process as it very rarely involved rebooting. It could be done while normal work was in progress and was fast. There is a sense of disappointment in his voice at times but then if you have raised a child to the age of six - and done it when raising a child is not the norm - his feelings can be understood. "Market penetration is a real issue," he says. "Linux does not have enough (penetration) to counter the argument that everyone uses Windows. "And the constant repetition of the question 'Is Linux ready for the desktop?' does not help. Linux, in my view, has been ready for the desktop for at least the last five years." Perkins said there were few people at the school now who had been there when Windows 98 was being used; hence very few could recall the difficulties encountered during that period. He has been at the school for 11 years and plans to move on this year. His move is not tied to the operating system switch - he has been looking out for a change for the last four years. Perkins still feels there may be some benefit from switching back to Windows - for some users, at least. "Two of three years down the road, there will be some people who will still be using only Internet Explorer and Word. But then there will be others who will use things like the Adobe applications (for example, Flash and Photoshop) and become competent in those." He did not wish to put a figure on the cost of migrating to Vista; all he said was that the school's IT budget had now increased four-fold or more. COMMENTS GONE??? Sorry the comments will be back (As soon as we can fix them!) |
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