Linux desktops?
June 24th, 2008 | Published in Linux, Nonprofit Tech, Open Source | 12 Comments
I’m doing a webinar on Linux Desktops next month, and it’s making me think a lot about my own experience using Linux on the desktop, and where I think things are going. If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ve heard my various sagas around using Linux on the desktop. I migrated to making it my primary desktop about a year ago. I have had varied problems, from issues of software integration, video problems, wireless issues … The list is getting very long.
And, guess what? I’m giving up. At some point, when I’ve saved up enough pennies, I’m going to buy a Mac laptop again. I’ve basically switched to using my Mac mini for just about everything except the bit of systems admin and coding I do, because it’s just so much easier to set up things on Linux for that type of work.
What happened was I felt like I was wasting too much time on things that should be easy. It should be easy to plug in a new monitor. It should be easy to get wireless, it should be easy to add a new printer. It should be easy to play a DVD. These things are far from the fault of Linux. On the Windows side the hardware manufacturers make proprietary drivers for Windows, and very few make drivers for Linux, or open source their drivers so that Linux developers can use them. On the Mac side, Apple controls the hardware, so there never is a problem with it. (And, of course, there are plenty of peripherals that don’t work with Macs.) And then there are the proprietary codecs and DRM, that are all tied to an OS.
So what does this mean for Linux on the desktop? This experience has made me think a lot about where organizations should think about using Linux, and where they should steer clear.
My theory is that where Linux is going really work is in dedicated devices built from the ground up to run Linux, and used for relatively limited purposes. The eePC is a great example, as are cell phones, media players, etc. This is where Linux will shine. And, of course, there are some other situations where Linux also shines: kiosks, internet cafes, computer labs and email/web workstations. There isn’t good reason, at this point, *not* to use Linux there. I think it can also work for the folks who perhaps use laptops as their primary machines, and don’t do anything except email and web. And, of course, always, for developers. I probably will always have a Linux desktop around, even if it ends up being a virtual machine, for the varied (small, at this point) development projects I have going. It’s just dead easy to use Linux for development - easier than using the Mac, even though it has BSD as it’s basis.
Where is Linux not a good idea? Most creatives and knowledge workers who are not developers. There are just too many things we need - too many cool new peripherals, we want to manipulate too many kinds of data and media, etc. And we don’t (at least I don’t) want to spend to much time getting all of that to work. And there still are lots of newer software and services that aren’t coming out in Linux versions (for instance there does not exist a decent usable twitter client for Linux - gwitter is not very usable at all, and the others just don’t work.) And, of course, designers need software that just don’t have high enough quality open source alternatives yet. I think that for a while, at least, Linux won’t be a good desktop option this broad group of people. Which is unfortunate, and I hope it changes. Linux has made huge usability strides in the past few years, as has open source software in general, so I think the future is still bright.
June 24th, 2008 at 9:04 pm (#)
I agree with your assessment. Even though I love promoting open source software and Linux among my non-profit clients, we’re not at the point where I could recommend Linux desktops for organization staff. Their computer labs and other computers designated primarily for web, email, and maybe some word processing? Sure. And of course, it’s pretty much my only recommendation for servers unless they have some very particular needs that call for Windows.
June 24th, 2008 at 10:58 pm (#)
Sigh. So sad. Just today I was wishing I could switch our whole office over to Linux, as I was contemplating the purchase of four machines that will round out the first full, organized replacement schedule our organization has had. We’re sticking with XP for now, but if I wait until next month when our fiscal year starts and these machines are budgeted, I have to pay EXTRA to get nominally-Vista machine with a “factory downgrade” to Windows XP Pro. And that’s just so stupid. And so the whole not-having-to-worry-about-licenses envy came up (in my head - no way I’d actually suggest this - I knew it was fantasy). Because what about our Peachtree accounting, our little Filemaker press clippings database, and oh yeah - totally wedded to Exchange/Outlook. Someday, the chains will be broken, but they’re pretty sturdy for the moment.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:21 pm (#)
Nice post. I’m intrigued with your thoughts on Linux shining in dedicated devices like cell phones. I use Ubuntu on a dual-boot (XP) machine. My experience as a non-power user is that it was still harder to get things up and running than XP (in part because of the dual boot) but not as bad as I imagine it was a few years ago. I haven’t investigated much software beyond email, web, and word processing, but I have noticed some strange video issues with my monitor.
One minor point: have you tried Twhirl on Ubuntu? I’ve been pleased with it and consider it a viable option.
June 25th, 2008 at 12:15 am (#)
“What happened was I felt like I was wasting too much time on things that should be easy. It should be easy to plug in a new monitor. It should be easy to get wireless, it should be easy to add a new printer. It should be easy to play a DVD.”
It’s a shame you’ve had bad experiences with those tasks. I’ve had one of the Dell 1420Ns sold with Ubuntu for a year now, and at this point all four of those things seem easy. After the upgrade to 8.04, I can plug in a new monitor and extend the display with the screen resolution applet (I’m using intel video). I connect to open/wep/wpa wireless networks without issue via Network Manager (I’m using intel wifi). I plug in in printers and they’re automatically set up. Although they weren’t doing it when I made the purchase, Dell is now including licensed DVD playback software.
I hope you’re discussing the option of buying systems with linux preinstalled in the webinar.
June 25th, 2008 at 5:28 am (#)
This is a shame.
What price Freedom?
This is why you cannot judge GNU/Linux side by side with proprietary systems. If you value software choice, privacy, common ownership, etc., then:-
- buy hardware that is supported (unless you are a developer or tinkerer)
- use software that is not proprietary
its easy.
If however you want:-
- more viruses & security holes
- wasted tax payers money
- closed certification & training
- hardware upgrade cycles (and hardware disposal issues)
- data ownership issues (open standards)
then promote and use proprietary systems! Because most people will only use what they are familiar with.
it is particularly sad because its still virtually impossible to spend grant money on GNU/Linux support, people like to fund shiny hologram boxes. your message will justify them.
its like a path in the woods, the more people travel down it the easier the path gets. This is why your message is sad. I am sure that you are aware of this though.
As Linus said:
Have a lot of fun.
I am sorry that you didn’t find your GNU/Linux experience to your satisfaction. Did you learn anything about how your computer works? I bet you did. If you are a ‘Circuit Rider’ then re-applying this knowledge makes administrating easier and thus cost effective for 3rd sector organisations. You see learning GNU/Linux makes for a better windows admin and gives the client more choice.
meh.
June 25th, 2008 at 6:46 am (#)
If you spent one tenth of the money you didn’t spend on a windows install on some paid for Linux support, I am sure your experience would have been very different.
June 25th, 2008 at 7:44 am (#)
@Stuart I don’t do Windows. :-) And I don’t need paid Linux support - I’ve been using Linux for more than 10 years. I’m not a newbie. I know how to recompile a kernel. The issue is how I want to spend my time (and therefore, for me $, since I am a freelancer.) For large organizations, you may be correct in this assessment, but I’m not so sure, even. For an individual, 1/10 of a Windows install is like, what $20? Hardly going to buy much paid support!
@Matthew Your points are all well taken, and it was for this reason that I did the original switch to Linux. I’m sold on software freedom, don’t get me wrong. And I think that organizations and individuals that are committed to software freedom should absolutely be willing to jump through the hurdles that exist. Also, remember I use a Mac - so all of the security issues are moot. I agree with basically everything you say, which is why it’s sad for me to give Linux up as my main desktop.
My experience may well have been different if I had been a Windows user. I think the Windows->Linux experience is a lot more different than the Mac->Linux experience.
@Brian Yes, I will discuss pre-loaded systems, and you are right, they are easier to deal with, for sure. But you’ll still have the peripherals issue.
@Seth I haven’t tried it yet - that’s a good idea. I know that the Adobe Air is alpha in Linux, but it’s worth trying out.
@Thomas Sorry to burst your bubble. :-)
And, by the way, there are loads and tons of great open source desktop applications available for both Mac and Windows, that I swear by and use every day, like Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org, Adium, etc. I think that’s where the growth of FOSS on the desktop is going to be great.
June 25th, 2008 at 8:12 am (#)
Bummer, but you have to do what makes sense for your situation.
My own experience has been that desktop Linux has been increasingly more usable since I started using it full-time about four years ago. The one sticking point was MS Project (unfortunately, a necessity), but I was able to get around that by a combination of dual-booting and VirtualBox. Otherwise, I’ve found that just about all the monitors and other peripherals I’ve acquired over the last year or so have worked out of the box.
Unfortunately, a new laptop with a corporate-mandated Safeboot-encrypted HD has put the kibosh on that strategy, and I’m now stuck using XP full time.
June 25th, 2008 at 1:19 pm (#)
[...] got some interesting comments on the last post about Linux desktops. I realize that I haven’t talked about this in a while, and I’m [...]
July 29th, 2008 at 7:18 pm (#)
[...] devices, but still struggles in the desktop market. That particular argument was recently repeated at a blog by someone who covers non-profits and technology. I first discovered that when I got the notice [...]
August 8th, 2008 at 10:52 am (#)
At the upfront cost, Windows Vista is $600 USD. At the upfront cost, GNU/Linux is $0 USD. That already will send me speeding toward GNU/Linux systems. Most people will not try Linux because either a) they just do not give a flying f**k, or b) they ill-conceived notions about what GNU/Linux is, and what it can do for them. Moving on from there, I have never had the problems you have had. Plugging in monitors was never an issue. Just change /etc/X11/xorg.conf ahead of time to set your resolution, vertrefresh, and horizsync to something you know that the monitor can handle. Wireless worked for me straight after install. DVD’s worked for me as well (though Windows doesn’t play DVD’s right after install). Adding a new printer is facilitated by a few different things hplip, cups, ghostscript, and gutenprint/gimpprint. You will need all of them because of the varying ways in which printers operate. You may want to try a polished distribution rather than something like Slackware (Slackware is more similar to BSD than it is GNU). Ubuntu, Fedora, Blag, Mandriva, Gentoo, and so on. These distributions are easier to use and maintain than any other I’ve ever touched. When you talk about hardware support, there are certain things that just will not work. For example: broadcom chipsets. If the hardware manufacturers will not open source their hardware/software there is nothing that can be done, period. If you buy atheros wireless, hp printers, and other incredibly common hardware… you ought to be just fine with Linux.
Linux isn’t popular because
#1 - there is no GNU/Linux advertising in mainstream media.
#2 - there is Microsoft and Macintosh advertising in the media.
#3 - hardware vendors are slow to take open source alternatives seriously
because of FUD from Microsoft (until very recently)
#4 - people who have an audience constantly talk about how awful Linux is for
the Desktop
If you want Desktop Linux and Mandriva/Ubuntu/Fedora were not easy enough, you should try PCLinuxOS or Linspire.
November 20th, 2008 at 3:28 am (#)
Linux is a Godsend for my nonprofit. We have a few hundred staff and everybody uses linux. Using things like diskless technologies (ltsp,drbl,freenx) our costs and staffing needs dropped through the floor. I would never ever run a company on anything else ever again! All the time and money we save is more time and money that can be spent on people in 3rd world countries. All the people that support linux have no idea how much impact that they have around the world.