MB Software Solutions General Account wrote: >> Exactly - if Linux had the breadth and choice in applications that >> businesses actually use, like payroll and accounts and CRM, they'd be all >> over it. But unfortunately that isn't the case yet. -- > > > So what's the hold-up?
The hold up is the status quo. Developers make applications that run on the most popular OS, and users buy the most popular OS because of the breadth of applications. But things are changing... fast. For example, Netbooks are looking to become insanely popular, because of size, weight, and price/performance. The best price comes from the Linux Netbooks versus the Windows Netbooks. I went shopping at my local Target and a preconfigured Linux EeePC with OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Flash, and a bunch of games came in at $299 plus tax. As I was reading the specs a mother with 2 kids in tow bought 2 of them, one white and one black. My client is becoming impressed with the price/performance of some Linux systems I've configured for them using older equipment. But to switch on a mass scale they'd need to evaluate whether they really need MS Office instead of OpenOffice (they switched from the latter to the former at the request of a few vocal users, but management is still more comfortable with OpenOffice, and I don't think they've seen the productivity benefits that the users promised with the switch, and those licenses were/are a huge cost they have to bear with every new computer purchase). So, the answer to the thread is: I'm not really pushing Linux to any of my customers for workstation/desktop at this point, as it wouldn't make sense given the applications they rely on. Sure, there are replacement apps, but it would be too costly to switch cold-turkey. However, with my eye on the future trends, and my deep knowledge of all 3 major OS players, and my conclusion that Linux *is* the best OS and *will always be* improving even more, I'll not be developing *my* applications using an environment that is prejudiced against one or more of the 3 major OS players. All apps I've developed over the past 7 years (web or desktop) have been cross-platform applications, installable and runnable on Mac, Linux, and Windows. It is important for me to not paint my clients into a corner, to determine their future OS direction, based on the applications they pay me to write. Turns out this was a great choice, as my "main gig client" now has the flexibility with the commercial app I've developed for them to cheaply deploy it on these new Netbooks and lease full hardware/software solutions to their customers with maximum profit potential. And it also turns out that a couple of their potential customers are Mac zealots, so the availability of a Mac version was a big part of making the sale for them. So, my client is already seeing *tangible business benefit* from having a cross-platform application instead of a Windows-only application. I expect these benefits to increase over time. Paul _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
