(Linux is these days a registered trade mark of Linus Torvalds. Before you ask, the penguin is Linus' chosen logo for Linux. The penguin is depicted replete with fish, and happy.)
What do I know?
The Lessons of History
What do organisations need?
What is Linux?
What is Linux good for?
Linux in the Organisation
Conclusions
Advised
on strategic software
Used Linux since 1993
"Those who will not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them."
IBM dominated the industry in the 1970s
Result:
Microsoft dominates the industry in the 1990s...
Too many of the people who make purchasing decisions are not technologically literate.
Those who are are often out of touch with current developments.
Technological hegemony is very powerful
Vendor lock-in is very powerful
Essentially, just an operating system kernel
Not a very 'modern' one
Started by Linus Torvalds in 1991
Developed by community of volunteers
Relatively light-weight
UNIX is a registered trademark of whoever owns the trademark this week.
An operating system kernel on its own isn't much use
Several groups package the Linux kernel up with supporting utilities and applications to make 'distributions'
Some are voluntary, community groups
![[RedHat logo]](images/redhat.gif)
Others are commercial organisations
Utilities
Mostly from Free Software Foundation and University of California Berkeley
Server Daemons
Many others
The windowing system
Desktop Interface
Installation tool
Servers of all kinds
Specialist network roles
Software engineering systems
Dedicated client systems
General purpose desktops
Very high reliability
Good security
Wide choice of software
Efficient use of hardware
Lower costs of ownership
Kernel support for multiple protocols
Kernel support for many networking functions
Web-based clients
X-Window based clients
Terminal based clients
Role least likely for Linux today!
But good software does exist
Commercial Office Productivity suites from
Some problems with interchanging documents with Microsoft Office remain
What's missing
Reasons to use Linux on the desktop
Not compelling for most organisations at this time.
The idea that free software is more reliable than commercially produced software is counter-intuitive for a lot of people, but independent research shows that it is the case. This paper provides some concrete measurements; This paper talks about why.
Guaranteed access to corporate information
Secure over time
Exploiting tehcnological advance as it becomes available
Vendors make changes to maintain revenue streams
If you need an enhancement, the vendor will probably do it, if you pay enough...
It may be difficult and expensive to switch to another vendor
Your data is safe provided
New products with technological advances can use these formats
You can always switch to another vendor
If you need an enhancement, there may be a competing product that has it.
Your data is safe provided
There is almost certainly an active community of people using the same software, who will share the costs of maintaining and enhancing it.
If no-one else is maintaining the software you need, you can maintain it yourself
If you need an enhancement, you can write it yourself
Your data is safe
Why should organisations adopt Linux
Where should organisations adopt Linux
Linux, Open Source, and organisational culture
Productivity
Cost
Future Proofing
Servers!
Firewalls, etc
On the desktop
Simon Brooke, <simon@weft.co.uk>
This presentation is online at http://www.weft.co.uk/library/linux/