To Vista or not to Vista, or maybe Ubuntu, is that even a question?

Image by Blyzz via Flickr

A couple of days ago a company owner, who is doing a major office upgrade and during this upgrade is upgrading all his office desktops, asked me which Operating System should he go for?  They currently run Windows XP and he has heard that Microsoft are killing it at the end of the month.  That leaves Vista, and with the press that Vista is getting he is unsure that it is going to be the best choice for his business.

Now I'm a bit of a multi-platform guy, so he also asked if Linux had an offering that could compete, or if OSX was something he should be looking at?  I'm sure this question is not a new one.  Any forward thinking Owner or IT Manager at some stage has looked at solutions other than Windows and flirted with the idea of sawing off the shackles that Microsoft has placed on them, and looked to save some money, up security, and improve stability.

There are a number of questions here, and I'll try to put them in a useful order.

Windows XP

The first thing to do is to tidy up the whole "what is happening to Windows XP?" (the much beloved and quite stable older version of Windows).  XP is up there with 98 SE in my opinion, and at the moment is my favorite Windows desktop of choice.  I will say at this point that I haven't spent much time with Vista.

Microsoft will stop selling boxed and OEM copies of XP to retail at the end of June.  This also means the Companies like Dell and Hewlett-Packard can't pre-install XP on new machines after that date.

But there is another option which is normally not talked about much, but with XP it looks like it's going to be popular.  Have you ever heard of Downgrade rights?  Well, Dell has and it is going to allow them to sell XP pre-installed on machines after the deadline.  The idea is that you purchase Vista but request XP Pro, and Dell will install XP Pro and give you a Vista disc, conditions do apply.  Apparently you could also have Windows 2000 if you wanted.

This may sound a little fiddly but it is great if you need a hardware upgrade and still have legacy software which Vista won't support.  Or if you're a company buying volume machines for a upgrade.

Support for XP has been moved to 2014, and with Microsoft's rush to support the growing mobility market, XP will be available to 2010.  So if you are happy with your XP Pro you should be alright for a little while at least.

Windows Vista

Probably not the most popular Windows version at the moment, Vista suffers from performance issues and a range of compatibility probleMicrosoft with older software and hardware.  Even with Service Pack 1 dropping in March and fixing the odd problem, many are still weary of a change to Vista hence the "...pry XP out of my cold, dead hands" coming from many.

As a Sys Admin, at this time, none of my clients have upgraded to Vista because the line is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" not "let's create lots of problems and stop the business making money".  That being said, this is the same with any upgrade of any hardware or software that is a major user interface, remenber when XP dropped?

But what if you are planning a complete desktop-hardware upgrade, as the example in the opening paragraph.  Well, it is all in the planning.  The major issue with Vista is the hardware requirements, so if you are upgrading the hardware, you have that covered.  As for the software problems and problems with unsupported peripherals, as with any upgrade, you would need to investigate them - well, that it what your IT guy is for.

To be honest, if your existing XP network is running well, I would suggest getting the new hardware with XP at this stage.  As you bring the office up to a 06-07 standard with all software and peripherals (e.g. printers, scanners, modems),  you can then start to roll out Vista at no extra cost.

Ubuntu Linux

So, is it time to go the whole hog and ditch Microsoft?  Well, that is a big question, especially if you have a number of people on staff.  As much as the latest version of Ubuntu (8.04) is probably the best I've used in the "ease of setup" and "compatibility" areas, the key point is that I have used Ubuntu before.

There is a learning curve with any platform change, and the majority of users don't enjoy it.  Truth be told, there is little that you could not replace in the office with a Linux OS like Ubuntu.  Wine makes installing and using Windows only software reasonably easy, but there is still a big list of professional programs that will not work.

Switching to Linux for your whole IT solution is possible, and there are many benefits. The main one is the cost.  Having a pretty well free Operating System, then adding OpenOffice (also free), and then adding any other free software you need - it's all low cost.  There are starting to be a few software providers offering Linux versions of the professional programs to purchase, with full support, and there are many Linux-only programs to purchase with full support.

Even though the latest Ubuntu is good enough that I feel a few could switch over to it as their desktop, I can't see there being a mass exodus.  As much as it is very do-able for a company to switch over, especially if you're not using too many currently unsupported programs, it would take a united effort to get the Microsoft fed staff to adjust to the UI differences.

One of the big things that could influence the growth of acceptance to Liunx in the workplace is the emergence of Cloud Computing.  Ubuntu has access to all the necessary software to take advantage of the new Web 2.0 application scene, and even with Microsoft Live Mesh looking like it will be cross platform, Ubuntu is a cheap way to access it.  Ubuntu would be the perfect home and small business platform if it weren't for Apple's OSX.

OSX

Now from the outset I will say that I'm using OSX (10.5 Leopard) as my main desktop, I don't consider myself a fanboy, but when you have something that works....

That being said, OSX has most of the problems facing Ubuntu when getting into the workplace.  Plus the cost, at this time you need to purchase Apple hardware to get OSX, and even though the machines are good looking, a bunch of Dell boxes might go a bit further in the work place.

OSX delivers a great user experience and that alone should be a reason to consider it.  Add in the security angle, while it lasts, and you have a heavily supported, usable, and good looking computer.  Once you add in VMware or Parallels - software that will let you run any Windows program, you almost have the best solution to move away from Windows.  If it wasn't for the premium price, OSX would be my suggestion, but you might need to weigh up the cost of moving from one large dictatorship to another.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, any major change in your IT direction for your company needs to be looked at verrrrryyyyy closely.  Big changes will cost a lot in training, trouble shooting, and frustration in the beginning, well before the benefits of the move can be realised.  So you need to make sure that everyone is on-board.   Whatever you do, don't set up a committee to roll out new changes, or it'll take you a couple years to get it happening - in which case you may be ready for the next up and coming version.

It is nice though, that we are at a time in computing history when there are realistic alternatives to Windows - that actually work and are viable for the workplace.   And with Apples market share increasing, and Linux's foothold in the newish mobility market, we could be seeing some interesting changes shortly.

Jason Remnant

Comments

[perdita]

mmm, windows is the safer way to go, but so pricey, and something about large multi national conglomerates with a stranglehold over 98% of the population sorta bugs me. Ah, thats it, they remind me of the Empire....

Linux is like the rebel alliance, all those volunteers risking life and limb for the greater good, and defeat of the evil empire. mmmmm, i tick Linux!

um, but i don't think my staff are gunna understand when I implement this, singing the star wars theme song :)