Bake-Off: 4 Linux Desktops Tackle The Enterprise (CRN) [LWN.net]

Bake-Off: 4 Linux Desktops Tackle The Enterprise (CRN)

Posted Mar 26, 2007 16:06 UTC (Mon) by bk (guest, #25617)
Parent article: Bake-Off: 4 Linux Desktops Tackle The Enterprise (CRN)

The issue is that the mistaken assumptions this publication makes are likely to be similar to the experience of most Linux-naive Windows users trying a Linux distribution for the first time.

How can distributions make it more clear to users on the correct way to install proprietary browser plugins for instance (with the appropriate warnings about unsupported proprietary apps)? New users familiar with Windows will always assume that the way to install software is by going to a website and downloading an unsigned, unverifiable binary blob and then running it. We must anticipate this assumption and find ways to counter it.

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Bake-Off: 4 Linux Desktops Tackle The Enterprise (CRN)

Posted Mar 26, 2007 16:44 UTC (Mon) by AJWM (subscriber, #15888) [Link]

How about a desktop icon labeled "find and install new software"? (Okay, that name is a bit long...) It would invoke whatever mechanism (apt-get, yast, etc) is appropriate to the distro.

But the earlier posters make a valid point: anything the enterprise desktop user needs should be preinstalled in the image that the IT department rolls out.. In an enterprise environment further updates (and this may include custom packages not available from the distros) could be managed by something like LinuxCOE.

Bake-Off: 4 Linux Desktops Tackle The Enterprise (CRN)

Posted Mar 26, 2007 17:25 UTC (Mon) by markhb (guest, #1003) [Link]

One thing worth pointing out is the target audience for CRN, which stands for Computer Reseller News: computer retailers, especially smaller ones and the beige-box guys. So the POV of their articles tends not to revolve around the user experience, but more around "how can the reader make (more) money selling this stuff?" So points about installing Flash, etc. drive two issues: how much effort will the VAR have to expend configuring the install image for some particular contract, and how much will supporting Linux drive up support labor costs?