Yes, but not everyone has everything they need right there. In my company it is almost impossible since we have windows only software that we can't port, or use wine for (believe me I've tried) This is for the banking industry. So until there is a way to make that work, I've done what most places have done, put linux in the server room.
However, the department I was in was almost entirely into *nix development, but we would have to do some kinda stuff related to Windows from time to time.
We also learnt that it's quite useful for you to have some kinda virtual machine like VMWare [vmware.com] on your box, to boot into alternate OSes. Really really useful.
And the problem is that it's really hard being in the development industry with only Linux -- sooner or later, you're going to run into some client who'd ask yo
Let's not forget, te focus here is "business desktops". Not "development desktops". That means we need 100% interoperability with a variety of MS document formats, including:
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- Project
Word and Excel are mostly there, but PPT is iffy, and I'm not aware of anything for the OSS desktop that is 100% (or even close to that) interoperable with Ms. Project. If someone can point me to solutoins to those two problems (PowerPoint, Project), especially if there are free or
In any reasonably complex windows environment you can't switch cold turkey (or completely) to a Linux desktop.
Here is an part of a report I made on the subject:
Linux Desktop Server I have been running Linux on my desktop for the last two years and have enjoyed the added flexibility ever since. It combines the features you're familiar with on Windows and Macintosh as well as adding several of its own to the mix. Check the "Linux Desktop Features" sidebar for details.
You will get the power of the Linux Desktop as well as keep the application availability of Windows.
The Linux desktop includes all of the benefits available with the Citrix Windows Application Server with some additional features mentioned below.
I've been using an OSS program called VNC (Virtual Network Computing) that allows you to control a computer remotely over the network. It runs on Windows, Macintosh and Linux. On Windows and Macintosh, VNC only allows you to remotely control one desktop per machine. But on Linux, you can remote control one or several separate desktops over the network and easily handle one desktop for each user from one or several servers.
VNC also allows users to move from one computer to another, open their Linux Desktop on the network and use the same programs right where they left off.
Upgrades only needing to be performed on the server. This reduces costs in new equipment, and time required to manage the software installed.
With all of these advantages, there are some disadvantages. The Linux Desktop runs Linux programs best (running Windows programs on the Linux Desktop is best left to a future project).
There are programs that do not have replacements yet under Linux. So far the list is small: Filemaker, Mas90 and Attendance Enterprise. There is a solution though - continue running them under windows!
Linux Desktop Features
All of the Linux features mentioned below are included standard, are absolutely free and open source.
Linux can have multiple desktops (each with their own applications) on the same screen and switch between them with the click of a mouse or press of a keyboard combination. You can also move application windows between the desktops or put one on all desktops at once.
OpenOffice fully supports Word and Excel files. It has most of the features available in Word and Excel, and some additional features such as "Type Ahead" and standard "Export to PDF". The only hindrance is the current minimal support for RTF, which excludes it from Letter Art work..
The GIMP has most of the features of Photoshop (including all that are needed by Match Mail) and supports PSD, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, GIF and several other formats.
PostScript and PDF are native formats on the Linux platform. The PDF format is an Open Standard like PostScript and there are replacements for Acrobat under Linux.
Linux supports Windows TrueType, Macintosh Type1 and Postscript Fonts.
There are several development languages available such as C, C++, Perl, Python, Borne Shell, and many others that can be used for data processing, database integration, graphical programs and more. Also, there are several command line and graphical development environments available.
Upgrade Linux applications while they're still running. To use the new version, simply close the program and open it again. You can't do that under Windows, and that is one of the reasons why you have to restart a Windows machine after running some upgrades. Though, that isn't the only reason.
There are very few reasons to reboot a Linux server. Here are a few situations where a Linux server would not need to be rebooted: Install Software, Uninstall Software, Change network settings, add network services, install application security updates. All of these would require rebooting under windows. This means less downtime and higher up times. Basically, unless there is a problem in the kernel (the heart of the system), then there is no need to reboot.
You can run a graphical program on one machine and use it on another Linux machine as if it were running on your local machine. You can also use the fonts from another machine over the network. These features are standard in the Xwindows system that Linux uses for its graphical interfaces.
Easy to do (Score:1)
months now. Didn't even bother to dual boot. I
have everything I need
Re:Easy to do (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Easy to do (Score:5, Interesting)
However, the department I was in was almost entirely into *nix development, but we would have to do some kinda stuff related to Windows from time to time.
We also learnt that it's quite useful for you to have some kinda virtual machine like VMWare [vmware.com] on your box, to boot into alternate OSes. Really really useful.
And the problem is that it's really hard being in the development industry with only Linux -- sooner or later, you're going to run into some client who'd ask yo
Easy *except* for... (Score:4, Insightful)
- Word
- Excel
- PowerPoint
- Project
Word and Excel are mostly there, but PPT is iffy, and I'm not aware of anything for the OSS desktop that is 100% (or even close to that) interoperable with Ms. Project. If someone can point me to solutoins to those two problems (PowerPoint, Project), especially if there are free or
Don't go cold turkey (Score:2, Informative)
Here is an part of a report I made on the subject:
Linux Desktop Server
I have been running Linux on my desktop for the last two years and have enjoyed the added flexibility ever since. It combines the features you're familiar with on Windows and Macintosh as well as adding several of its own to the mix. Check the "Linux Desktop Features" sidebar for details.
You will get the power of the Linux Desktop as well as keep the application availability of Windows.
The Linux desktop includes all of the benefits available with the Citrix Windows Application Server with some additional features mentioned below.
I've been using an OSS program called VNC (Virtual Network Computing) that allows you to control a computer remotely over the network. It runs on Windows, Macintosh and Linux. On Windows and Macintosh, VNC only allows you to remotely control one desktop per machine. But on Linux, you can remote control one or several separate desktops over the network and easily handle one desktop for each user from one or several servers.
VNC also allows users to move from one computer to another, open their Linux Desktop on the network and use the same programs right where they left off.
Upgrades only needing to be performed on the server. This reduces costs in new equipment, and time required to manage the software installed.
With all of these advantages, there are some disadvantages. The Linux Desktop runs Linux programs best (running Windows programs on the Linux Desktop is best left to a future project).
There are programs that do not have replacements yet under Linux. So far the list is small: Filemaker, Mas90 and Attendance Enterprise. There is a solution though - continue running them under windows!
Linux Desktop Features
All of the Linux features mentioned below are included standard, are absolutely free and open source.
Linux can have multiple desktops (each with their own applications) on the same screen and switch between them with the click of a mouse or press of a keyboard combination. You can also move application windows between the desktops or put one on all desktops at once.
OpenOffice fully supports Word and Excel files. It has most of the features available in Word and Excel, and some additional features such as "Type Ahead" and standard "Export to PDF". The only hindrance is the current minimal support for RTF, which excludes it from Letter Art work..
The GIMP has most of the features of Photoshop (including all that are needed by Match Mail) and supports PSD, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, GIF and several other formats.
PostScript and PDF are native formats on the Linux platform. The PDF format is an Open Standard like PostScript and there are replacements for Acrobat under Linux.
Linux supports Windows TrueType, Macintosh Type1 and Postscript Fonts.
There are several development languages available such as C, C++, Perl, Python, Borne Shell, and many others that can be used for data processing, database integration, graphical programs and more. Also, there are several command line and graphical development environments available.
Upgrade Linux applications while they're still running. To use the new version, simply close the program and open it again. You can't do that under Windows, and that is one of the reasons why you have to restart a Windows machine after running some upgrades. Though, that isn't the only reason.
There are very few reasons to reboot a Linux server. Here are a few situations where a Linux server would not need to be rebooted: Install Software, Uninstall Software, Change network settings, add network services, install application security updates. All of these would require rebooting under windows. This means less downtime and higher up times. Basically, unless there is a problem in the kernel (the heart of the system), then there is no need to reboot.
You can run a graphical program on one machine and use it on another Linux machine as if it were running on your local machine. You can also use the fonts from another machine over the network. These features are standard in the Xwindows system that Linux uses for its graphical interfaces.