Linux in 2009: Recession vs. GNU

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3793601 ^ | 12-29-09 | Bruce Byfield

[Brookhaven]

Pundits and business executives alike are predicting gloomy economic times for 2009. But when the talk turns to free and open source software (FOSS), suddenly the mood brightens. Whether their concern is the business opportunities in open source or the promotion of free software idealism, experts see FOSS as starting from a strong base and actually benefiting from the hard times expected next year...

The idea that software available at no cost will become popular in a recession is a no-brainer...

Zemlin sees Linux and the FOSS ecosystem surrounding it as having insurmountable advantages in any market over its main competitor Windows -- advantages that an economic downturn only intensifies. At a time when a search for the lowest possible price point is happening in such areas as notebooks, FOSS is available at no cost. It is easy to rebrand and customize in a way that Windows Isn't, and is also technically more efficient...

As for advances on the desktop, Zemlin, like many, laughs at the long-predicted "Year of the Linux Desktop." However, he quickly adds that the year may have already passed in 2008 with the use of Linux in netbook computers...

Brown sees an opportunity to promote free software ideals in education...Why is it that we can send $100 laptops to the poor children of the world with an understanding that there's a new paradigm for learning, yet here in the United States, no conversation has been had about how we educate our children?"

Palamida recently conducted a survey among its client base of companies earning $50 million per year and higher in a variety of industries, particularly financial services. Of the IT managers who replied, 45 percent said they would consider open source as a cost-saving measure -- but nearly 55 percent said they would not.

[Brookhaven]

The transition cost can be balanced against the future ongoing maintantenance cost.

I think given the economic crunch, companies will take a second look at Linux/Open-Source. A Linux GUI is no harder a transition for most users than going to an Apple GUI. Once someone is comfortable with one, they can adapt to any.

The cost to deploy/maintain a Linux desktop with productivity software (office, mail, etc...) is significantly less over time than the Windows or Apple equivalent. I can see any number of government agencies (espcially at the state and local level, including school systems) taking a hard look at Linux for that reason alone.

If you are a local school system that has to deploy X number of PCs, and your revenue has stagnated due to the recession, the fact that you can save a significant amount of money will make you take a hard look at Linux.

Remember, Unix got its foothold in the world because it was free to colleges and universities. I can see cash strapped colleges looking at Linux in a variety of areas also.

Linux already has a strong foothold in the backend (DB, internet, & file servers.) A lot of companies already have the expertise in place to handle Linux at that level. For those companies expanding Linux into other areas is a revolution, it is evolution.

[papasmurf]

“Linux/Open-Source software has a real opportunity to make serious headway this year.”

Linux is Open Source. But, that is not to say that that all Open Source software is Linux or is for Linux.

There are, literally, 1000’s of free and Open Source software titles for Windows, as well.

Here are just a few links to some...

http://www.opensourcewindows.org/

http://osswin.sourceforge.net/

http://freshmeat.net/browse/219/

As well, keep in mind there is much free and open source software that runs on the many .nix distributions that can be run on Windows, too.

Using one of several free “virtualizing” software packages that create a “virtual” machine inside of your Windows operating system, you can install, run, and use anything!

My favorite is VirtualBox... http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads (Best documentation and step by step tutorials and assistance of all)

Then, there is Virtual PC...

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=04d26402-3199-48a3-afa2-2dc0b40a73b6&displaylang=en

and VMWare...

http://www.vmware.com/download/

Go forth, download, install, run! Make money and have fun!

[papasmurf]

” Running Ubuntu 8.10 on a VMWare partition on an HP class C enclosure. MySql powering an internal IT website and a dotProject project management/ticketing/helpdesk suite.”

Show off! LOL

[shorty_harris]

Here’s another one I like...

http://www.osalt.com/

[Golden Eagle]

Linux/Open-Source software has a real opportunity to make serious headway this year.

So we've heard for the last 10+ years. This one will be no different, except in China, Russia, and Cuba, where they're forcing people to use it.

[antiRepublicrat]

Changing-over to Linux is only ‘free’ if you don’t include IT staff time, and lost productivity.

That's just during switchover, and it applies to any platform. After that the ROI is often much better. Of course, as with anything computers YMMV based on your specific situation.

[CowboyJay]

After that the ROI is often much better

I could see that for some applications.

The most common programs used in business are Excel, Word, and Outlook. Relearning spreadsheet formulas is time-consuming. The deal-breaker for us was unreliable Open Office file-conversion.

[antiRepublicrat]

The deal-breaker for us was unreliable Open Office file-conversion.

While that is the fault of Microsoft for trying to make conversion harder in order to achieve lock-in, it still doesn't negate the fact that conversion is difficult, time-consuming and therefore expensive.

It is still a judgment call though. Once all documents are in ODF you are guaranteed to be forever free of lock-in, so a further conversion down the road would be easier. But this still runs contrary to my original assertion, which is that in tough economic times companies will be looking at surviving right now, not looking for an expense now that will justify itself in several years.