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Would you buy a Microsoft-less desktop?
48 comments- TAGS:desktop linux, IBM, Linux, Lotus, Novell, Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu
- IT TOPICS:Desktop Applications, Enterprise Software & Services, Hardware, Linux, Open Source, Operating Systems, Software
IBM, in partnership with Red Hat, Novell, and Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, is hoping that the answer is yes.
For me, that's a no-brainer. Windows has long been more trouble than its worth. Since Microsoft seems to be seriously considering dumping Windows, it seems they agree with me. So, IBM and Linux friends are suggesting that you stop messing with Windows and go with a business desktop based on one of the three major Linux distributions and an IBM/Lotus software stack instead.
The plan is to put the Lotus Notes client, Sametime IM client and the OpenOffice-based Symphony office suite on top of your choice of Red Hat desktop Linux, Ubuntu Linux or Novell's SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop). At the same time, on the server side, all three distributions will be offering pre-installs of the Domino Notes Server 8.5 and other IBM server software on their Linux server offerings.
You, however, wouldn't have to worry about installing all this software. Well, you could if you wanted to, but the real plan is to get OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), VARs (value added resellers), and system integrators to install the package on PCs. All you'd need to do is buy the PC, which would come not just with an operating system, but with a full integrated business desktop as well.
At one time, I would have applauded this idea, but I also would have really doubted that it would go anywhere. There were just too many people who wouldn't even consider buying a Windows-less PC. That was then. This is now.
Today, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus and a host of other PC vendors are already selling desktops and laptops with pre-installed Linux. And, as Kevin Cavanaugh, IBM Lotus Software's VP, pointed out, "The slow adoption of Vista among businesses and budget-conscious CIOs, coupled with the proven success of a new type of Microsoft-free PC in every region, provides an extraordinary window of opportunity for Linux."
I couldn't agree more. I also really like how this package will push the window open even more. With the IBM/Lotus software package, business users also get a complete, solid as a rock, desktop suite. E-mail, calendering, contacts, IM, word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation, it's all in there. You could put this desktop in front of 95% of all business workers and it would give them 100% of everything they needed.
At the same time, because it's Linux-based, this do-it-all business desktop would also be cheaper to administer since almost all of the security risks from viruses and malware disappear along with Windows. Any fair comparison between one of these Linux desktops and its Windows equivalent will show that the Linux system will be cheaper to buy in the first place and to maintain.
I think this plan has real possibilities. What do you think? Would you buy a Microsoft-less desktop for your office?
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