Alternative To Windows Desktops

Eric_Z writes "Ace's Hardware has got a article called "The Mad Hatter meets the MSCE" by Paul Murphy, about the TCO benefits of using UNIX(Lintel) instead of Wintel. According to the piece: 'The subject of this article looks at alternatives to the Windows desktop, which is a hot topic these days with IBM/SuSe scoring a highly public win in Munich with desktop Linux, and Sun aiming to build on StarOffice being the leading alternative to Microsoft Office with a software stack code-named Mad Hatter which Sun also plans to use extensively in-house. But companies depending on Microsoft Certified Engineers to adapt to Linux will carry over a number of problems, significantly increasing the chance of project failure. Paul considers the alternatives, the migration problems, and in seeking a more reliable alternative takes the opportunity to look at the business desktop from an entirely different angle, and propose a more radical solution.'"

MSCE????

[snatcheroo]

MSCE???? It'S MCSE: Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer

Solaris 10 Mad Hatter screenshot

[ShadeARG]

Here [kicks-ass.net] is a Solaris 10 Mad Hatter desktop screenshot.

Nice timing...

[Basje]

... as it was just yesterday that it became know that Ford Motor Company is joining the ranks. They are switching [scotsman.com] from Windows to Linux

Re:Solaris 10 Mad Hatter screenshot

[Kedder]

This looks like regular Gnome2, which is included in new Solaris versions...

The real MadHatter screenshots seems to be here [sun.com].

should not be permitted to use the word 'engineer'

[sczimme]

If memory serves, Microsoft and Novell came under fire a few years ago for their use of the word 'Engineer'. In the non-IT world, the word actually carries meaning: one must complete a licensing process before calling oneself an Engineer. Additionally, these real [i.e. non-IT] engineers are actually held liable for defects/mistakes/incompetence, etc.

My dad is a Certified Manufacturing Engineer and a Professional Engineer (P.E.); this issue was covered extensively in his trade magazines.

A bit biased

[Digital Dharma]

As an MCSA and Active Directory / Exchange admin, I found this author's story just that- A story. He's obviously coming from a position of not knowing anything about Win32 administration, and it was obvious to me he's yet another one of the Lin32 pundits who really doesn't know anything about Win32 networks except what he's heard in the press. Keep in mind that if Lin32 ever gets as big as Microsoft as far as desktop percentages, it will also face the same issues with point and click virus creation tools and the like.On my last assignment I spent a total of 2 days disabling services and other undesirable components of the AD domain I designed. An external security company spent over a weeek trying to break in. Not only did we maintain a 99.9% uptime, but they never did break in. So you see, Win32 networks can be secure and stable, just as Lin32 networks can be insecure and unstable. It really has nothing to do with the OS per se, but rathar the person behind the keyboard. As this author is obviously ignorant to the facets of Win32 administration, I have to wonder how secure and stable his Win32 domain would be, should he ever find himself in such a position.

Re:Troll

[warmcat]

Its true about the mp3 and video stuff, this is due to Redhat avoiding things with "patent issues". But, if this was making you wonder about how useful RH9 is for media duties, wonder no more: take the freshrpms.net Three Step plan to Redhat media heaven and you'll be all set.

Step 1: Get and install apt for rpm [freshrpms.net]

Step 2: apt-get update

Step 3: apt-get install xmms-mp3 mplayer mplayer-fonts mplayer-skins

That's it, mp3s, all kinds of video now work. You might need to make your file manager app use mplayer instead of a default app for the right file suffixes is all.

apt-get install frozen-bubble is a bunch of fun too. Check out freshrpms [freshrpms.net] for the other things you can get that are not in stock Redhat.

Re:Nice timing...

[Balthisar]

I'm a Ford engineer (not a computer engineer). It's about damn time. Of the 20 PC's in my office, we use email (Outlook), Excel, a lot of web-based apps, several dumb-terminal apps, and a few in-house, Windows-based apps (nothing fancy that shouldn't run in WINE or just be updated anyway). It's all Win2K (just got it with new Dells). For what we do, there's no sense in it! The fact that they're PC's means most of the user problems come from home versions of stuff introduced here. The first user is an admin, which works for me, but gives to much power to the less educated.

Re:The author is in a happy dreamworld

[IntlHarvester]

I give the author a lot of credit for addressing the philsophical underpinnings of the Unix Versus Windows platform conflict. Too frequently, the "IT guys" portray this as a simple matter of switching the software stack, when in fact they are advocating a radically different technology management ideology.

The author at least makes an attempt to address this idelogical difference from a practical, if biased, perspective. However, by putting it in the context of "the MCSE", it's skirting around the greater management issues involved.

I though this point in particular was facinating:

Use of the Unix Business Architecture eliminates all of these problems:

First it removes the user empowerment lie fundamental to the client-server architecture by eliminating the pretence that the desktop is a personal, rather than corporate, resource and thus positions the IT group for an honest working relationship with users.

Does anyone see clamoring for a "honest relationship" from the End User side? If anything IT has moved to more of a "service" role with users as it's "customers" -- especially in executive-heavy US corporate culture. A change in platforms is not going to reinstate a great "honest" reverence for the almighty BOFH power-relationship.

Furthermore, it ignores the reason that corporate computing moved to the "Personal" model to begin with -- IT departments were widely seen as not being flexible enough to provide the solutions that end users needed in the trenches. Sure, there's a massive cost savings with the Host-Terminal model, but there's also a large opportunity cost associated with it, and that's fundementally a high-level business decision.

Re:MSCE?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ttha si easeucb ti aws not luryt donmra.
Gnipiwph up a ucikq oapgrrm ot replpyor nmdiozear tghsin eaksm ti os cumh reom aeuderbnal. Ti osal saieintcd soeoenm wya oto nolg ot teiwr het etranp stpo airzmgnnodi is hcum arhder yb danh.

We've already switched...

[Silicon Snake]

I manage a charity program where we donate/sell dirt cheap older computers to needy families. We've been using win98+oofice for a while, but this weekend we'll donate the first batch of pc's running rh9 + XPde (www.xpde.com). They run Rh9 for stability, have the windows-like XPde interface to help the user becomes used to the new environment. We even got winmodems to work on the thing, so they can have dial-up internet! Linux proved to be a great money-saving alternative in a area where every dime counts.

Aid Linux tranistion & acceptance with Macs

[buckhead_buddy]

One technology department I'm familiar with had its budget slashed incredibly. Basically, by some pointy haired boss using a CDW catalog and his HP 12c to project the figures.

The IT staff were in a panic. Supplying WinTel machines as budgeted wouldn't allow funding for many server side technologies and pet projects. Moreover this didn't go over well with the IT staff who would have to be responsible for maintaining and securing these machines. They weren't Linux savvy yet and if they were being honest, most had come to depend on GUI-driven, point-and-click tools to help them in their maintenance chores.

As they were assembling their rationalizations to take back to management, some extremely clever in-house developers on the IT staff, came up with an open-source solution to deploy:
* Come up with standard Linux install images
* Develop tools on Macs to maintain these images

When the IT staff realized that with this method they weren't in danger of losing their own ease of use, they started coming up with their own justifications for this plan.
* Good to have IT staff on higher-security platform
* Unauthorized users easier to id due to distinctive design
* Wider compatability than Windows or Linux alone

The voiceless masses have been fairly receptive to the new plan (or at least not coordinated enough to voice a strong opposition). Key executives were allowed to be exempt from the Linux standards, but they were encouraged to use Macs with MS products rather than full Wintel machines (to be as "standard" as possible).

The use of friendly maintenance tools on Macs (which used tech friendly technologies under the hood for the geeks) was the key to overcoming the general IT fear of Linux. It's not certain if IT will keep using Macs down the road once this irrational fear is gone, but it was very important to get the ball rolling at all.

Re:I already use a Windows desktop alternative.

[Sprinkels]

Current G4 iMacs are able to netboot e.g. run as diskless clients.

Just press option while booting and select the netboot icon.