You'll really be fighting a losing battle if the conversion to FOSS is
wholesale and in a single stage
Not only will the users be resistant in losing their MSOffice applications,
it's highly doubtful (from your description of the outfit) that the company
can afford to have a competent Linux SysAd on hand (or even if it already
had one, for long).
A multiple stage process is much easier to implement :
a) get rid of Windows & get a Linux distro that can run Crossover Office.
This will eliminate the OS vulnerability to Windows viruses & malware and
reduce the need for wholesale PC reformatting & OS setup after a bad infection.
This step also allows the onsite SysAd to become acclimatized to Linux without
worrying about how to support user office applications with which he's
unfamiliar with.
(Crossover Office is highly compatible with Microsoft Exchange server , another
big & painful transition that you can push back at a later date when odds are
favorable)
Users will also be less resistant to the change, so that's one big roadblock
you won't have to deal with in the early stage of the game.
b) Change the lesser Windows applications to FOSS (YM/AIM to GAIM, Explorer to
Firefox etc)
c) The big step. Dump Microsoft Office in favor of Open Office & convert
those Exchange & NT file servers for FOSS.
Honestly, the great majority of attempts like these will end at Stage B. But
you have to let the people adjust little by little to a new paradigm.
Roberto Verzola <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I'm informally helping an office
convert to FOSS, and after months of on-off
effort, its system administrator submitted a memo about "shifting back to
windows", citing the ff reasons:
Hardware
- linux versions depend on hardware specs. Eg, ubuntu may not work on a new pc
but other versions may
- unable to detect scanner, camera
- very hard to backup a file when linux encounters a problem or crashes
Software
- not all plugins are available in firefox for linux
- kopete doesn't have file transfer
- cannot play movies and other presentations
Printing
- uses all colors even if we are only printing black
- inability to share a printer or even use a network printer
- compatibility of printers depend on what kind of linux you are using
- no support for 3 in 1 printers
I really have another job so I can't give too much time providing detailed
support. I expected the sys ad to work out the problems himself, if I point
him to the right direction. Apparently, he thinks Windows will be easier for
him overall.
Any suggestion will be helpful. If I can show that half or 2/3 of the problems
he raised could have been solved had he tried harder, management might indeed
ask the sys ad to try harder.
Obet
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