Ulteo Shows Linux-Windows Crossover Potential

An anonymous reader writes "With Wubi and now the Ulteo Virtual Desktop, we're starting to see examples of the potential 'cross-over' appeal of Linux to Windows users. Ulteo gets a nice look from Channelweb, which writes, 'Considering that this is not even a version 1 beta, we have high hopes for Ulteo Virtual Desktop. It allows Linux novices to dip their toes into the water without any fear, and lets Linux pros use their favorite applications when they are forced to be in a Windows environment.' This also seems to play into comments by Mark Shuttleworth, who has said the Ubuntu community may want to think about how it can start appealing to Windows users."

There are better ways

[Foofoobar]

If you put a stable platform on an unstable one, people who are unfamiliar will not realize that the new one is not the problem.

If you put a secure platform on one that is generally more insecure, people will still think it may have gotten a virus through it because they don't understand.

The only thing you are doing is getting people introduced to common applications like Open Office, Firefox and other more commonly used OO applications and there are far better ways to do this than with something that a common consumer will probably never use; if you want them to start using Open Office and Firefox, burn a bunch of Disks and nice labels and start a campaign on 'back to school' periods when everyone is shopping for their kids and college students and stand outside that Mac Store or the BestBuy handing out OpenOffice and Firefox CD's.

cygwin

[aXi]

running open source apps on windows, just port and compile with cygwin or equivalent. Why all these pseudo solutions exist is a riddle to me.

Re:There are better ways

[hansraj]

While I agree with your comments that this is far from the ideal way of using linux, I disagree with your assessment that it serves little to no purpose. Once a windows user gets used to the KDE task bar, and then eventually with the whole lot of programs that come with it, it would be easier for them to totally abandon Windows. Of course not everyone will switch boats but a good enough chunk should :)

World domination, naturally, is the next step.

Re:cygwin

[grub]

Because this is a relatively painless way for "mom & pop" to try Linux. There's no way my dad could "just port and compile with cygwin".

Re:cygwin

[MBGMorden]

I kinda concur (though it looks like you incurred the wrath of the moderators there).

Linux as an OS is not at all hard to use. Most people who don't figure it out probably aren't doing any better on their current Windows system. The apps are where people run into issues. If someone is already using Firefox on Windows, then that's one less thing to get used to if they "convert". It helps if you can do this a little at a time.

If you'd look at my desktop (a Windows machine) at work I've got it setup with Firefox, Thunderbird, GIMP, MySQL (with HeidiSQL GUI), PostgreSQL (with pgAdmin III GUI), 7-zip, Pan, Songbird, Filezilla, etc. There are a few proprietary apps that we use here that aren't available for Linux that I use too, but for the most part, all of the "everyday use" stuff is open source.

Get people used to using Windows machines like that and it'll be cake moving them over to a Linux machine running the same stuff. No need on wasting time on OS's running on top of each other , which BTW, confuses the living HELL out of your average user. Having recently setup some users with RDP sessions that they could use to work with machines off-site, I can say that the whole concept of them working on different systems but on the same keyboard and display just boggles their poor little minds.

Re:There are better ways

[Foofoobar]

I use Windows too and agree it has been MORE solid but I also use Mac and Debian Linux as well and in comparison, side-by-side... it's buggy, unstable, virus ridden and hackable. Sure props are due in them coming a long way in improving but they have a fundamentally flawed underlying design and need to fix that, the file system and several other core problems before they can stabilize the entire system.

Speaking as someone who uses all three platforms, there's a reason why Mac and Linux people make these complaints when talking about Windows. It's because it's fairly true.

This will not boost linux kernel adoption

[Pausanias]

The linux-on-windows solutions (cygwin was the first, now the more user-friendly ones) present an interesting dilemma. Most windows users I know hate the windows interface. If given an easy way to try gnome/KDE, they may just like it so much that they'd decide to ditch Windows altogether and move all the way to Linux. These installers allow them to reassure themselves that everything they need to do in Windows can be easily done in Linux as well.

However, my feeling is that these people are outnumbered by the people who will not give up Windows. They will not give up Windows because it runs their games, or because it runs their proprietary applications, or simply because complex Microsoft Office files still look wrong in OpenOffice. These people, I think, are in the majority. Even if they like GNOME/KDE, they will still stick with Windows to get the best of both worlds. This is especially true if they can run GNOME/KDE within Windows without rebooting.

That is both good news and bad news. Many free software applications will get a boost out of this, but the Linux kernel unfortunately will not.

There are several better ways

[frovingslosh]

Yea, I see no good reason for this. It's trying to be Linux, but warns you against installing what you want or need for fear of breaking it and wants you to just use the set of applications that they have picked. Many of them are already available compiled to run directly under Windows, so there's not much point in monkeying around with an extra Linux layer and the restrictions of this "special distro" just to run a preselected set of applications. If there is really a reason to support Xp and (ugh) Vista, then the effort may have been better spent by porting more OS apps to the Windows platform rather than doing this.

If you do want Linux and not apps ported to Windows, and want to run both Linux and Windows at once, far better would be to install the free VMware player and install Debian (or your personal choice of the many Linux religions to pick from) and then you really can install and run whatever Linux apps that you want. And, of course, the choice to run Windows under Linux rather than Linux under windows ramains an option for many, although I doubt it would be acceptable to many of the Gamers out there.

Re:There are better ways

[clang_jangle]

You are wrong. It appears most slashdotters have a rabid and unreasoning hatred of all things Microsoft.

It is you who is in error. Some may be rabid, but "unreasoning"? We got no end of reasons. Functionality/lack thereof, economics, politics...

Ever heard the expresson "where there is smoke there is fire"?