Lindows shopping

In a recent column, I wrote about my experiences with Macs and Windows in a corporate environment. As a longtime Linux proponent, I have embraced that platform for a variety of backend applications, but have been reluctant to consider it for the desktop. Linux is great for engineers and technology people — I use a Linux workstation daily. But how would it perform in an environment where people just want to get their e-mail, write Word documents, and crunch numbers in a few key spreadsheets?

With my anti-Linux-desktop prejudice in full force, I set out to prove to myself that Linux was not a viable choice for the desktop. I decided to take the RedHat 8.0 system on my desktop and put it through the paces of our business. I intentionally built a stock workstation install with no special configuration options for my tests.

First, I took a key budget modeling Excel spreadsheet used regularly at InfoWorld and decided to load it into a free spreadsheet program. The most convenient one on the desktop was OpenOffice Calc, but I could have used StarOffice with just a little more work. This particular spreadsheet is probably the most complex one I use at InfoWorld. I transferred it to my Linux machine and opened the spreadsheet in OpenOffice Calc. It worked flawlessly. I tried several other key spreadsheets and had no problems with any of them. In fact, as I was working with one of them, one of our sales people came into my office. This particular salesperson had not seen Linux in action, and as I turned to demonstrate, he looked at the open spreadsheet on my screen and said, “I didn’t know Excel ran on Linux.” In one simple sentence, the usefulness of the OpenOffice Calc program was validated — if my spreadsheets work and a salesperson recognizes (functionally at least) the software at a first glance in the Linux environment, the training is mostly done.

The applications are just part of the battle. A user-friendly, intuitive desktop environment is equally important. Although the KDE and Gnome desktop environments are incredibly easy to use for technically-oriented people, I’ve had some trouble training nontechnical people in these environments after a lifetime of using Windows and Macintosh. As my wife said after I tried Linux on our primary home PC for three months: “I WANT WINDOWS BACK!” Since then, however, the emergence of consumer-friendly Linux distributions like Lindows have leveled the playing field for nontechnical Linux users.

Bottom line: If Joe Sixpack can buy a Lindows machine at Wal-Mart for $200 (and he can) and make it work as the family computer, then the knowledge workers who use computers in your enterprise every day can also make the adjustment.

Still, I’m in no hurry to migrate our company to a Linux desktop. But the choice seems more realistic with every passing day. With OpenOffice, StarOffice, Ximian’s Evolution, and Mozilla, I have pretty much everything I need to get my job done, but I still have a beef with the emergence of a compelling Linux desktop. Most of the software is intended to displace Microsoft, yet a lot of the key applications unapologetically mimic their products. The name “OpenOffice” borrows the core of its name from Microsoft’s product line. Proponents of Evolution say it looks and works “just like Outlook.” The name “Lindows” leverages existing consumer comfort with Windows. Granted, each of these products has open APIs and more “hooks” for the developer, but are we just looking at the open-source version of “embrace and extend?” It’s difficult to envision a life without Microsoft when Microsoft seems to be driving the product development.