[SC.LUG] ping!

[David Holden]

<snip>

>
> Sure most users don't use the vast majority of ms office bells & whistles,
> but you only need to work with a document that uses just one of the
> 'unsupported' features (and keep said feature intact) and your scuppered.
> If your collaborating with a MS Office user you really have no choice. (a=
nd
> thats aying nothing about working with Lotus & Corel users.)

This depends on how vital that unsupported feature is. We now run 90% of ou=
r=20
business on linux (and although a lot of cases linux is better (IMHO KDE=20
desktop is now considerably better that windows for a lot of things) I=20
occasional get my boss saying that "I can do *this* on windows why can't I =
do=20
it on linux". =20

The *this* involved is often some little Windows featurette that does not=20
really make you more productive. The answer to this complaint is usually=20

"no you can't do that on linux (at the moment) but you can do xxx, and yyy=
=20
which if we went back to windows you would not be able to do and you would =
be=20
paying several hundred pounds in licensing fees for the priviledge".


There are also otherways you can address dependance on proprietry software,=
 as=20
I mentioned above 90% of our machines are now linux but we still have some=
=20
windows machines around where linux can't replace functionality.

By the way we are a Academic publisher and most of our incoming article=20
submissions (several thousand a year) are in M$ word. The fact that we can=
=20
still run a largely linux shop should indicate Linux/Open Source is a prett=
ey=20
robust solution.


>
> > Perhaps you ought to have another look at OO.org?
>
> I did, the upshot being that when I need to work with MS office documents
> on my Linux desktop, I run MS Office with crossover office. I just want to
> get on with the work, not spend an age fiddling about.
>
> >> Its one thing to evangelise Linux & open source, its quite another
> >> to trick people into trying it with claims that just don't hold
> >> water. Once bitten twice shy and all that.
> >
> > Who's tricking whom? It's not as if it's going to cost =A3300 to try it
> > out. What has anyone got to lose except 60 mb of hard drive space? If
> > they are encouraged to try it and don't like it they can always get
> > rid of it. Encouraging someone to try out the software can hardly
> > fall into the category of "tricking them".
>
> Opensource software is only free if your time has no value.=20

I think you need to look at this statement relative to propriety software.

Open source software is free in that you dont have to pay licensing cost.
Proprietry software is not free in that you have to pay licensing cost.

With both types of software usage incurs a time cost.

As to which is more time expensive depends on the software. For those of
us running largely (free/open source) linux shops the current spate of viru=
s=20
attacks cost us very little time, I doubt largely (non free/proprietry)=20
windows shops can say the same.


>In practice you
> only have one shot at converting an individual or business to opensource,
> helping them to make the switch with their eyes wide open to all the
> pitfalls is surly better for all concerned. I would much rather tell
> someone that Linux (etc) is not suitable for their needs than have them
> come back feeling they have been utterly mislead.

This is a good point and should be born in mind,  certainly the argument "o=
nce=20
bitten twice shy" is a powerful one. However I believe that because we are=
=20
running largely linux we have a competitive advantage. Ultimately the more=
=20
competive solution will win out in the market place. So whether you like op=
en=20
source or have been burnt in the past for trying it out, in a lot (maybe no=
t=20
majority yet) of cases you will be forced to take another look.


>
> Its for that very reason (for example) that I don't suggest my parents
> switch to Linux even though they have expressed an interest. A combination
> of KDE, OO.org & Mozilla will do everything they do at the moment easily
> (and better than XP on their now aging p3-500). Except for internet
> banking, which will only work from IE.

Which bank only works with IE?=20

You might want to ask their legal dept to look at this address

http://elj.warwick.ac.uk/jilt/01-2/sloan.html


Cheers,

       Dave.


=2D-=20
Dr. David Holden. (Systems Developer)
Crystallography Journals Online: <http://journals.iucr.org>

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