Mates,
Occasionally, I try to reflect and think about were we [Linux] are/[is]
and how we are doing. Tonight is one of those occasions. As I look at the
lists I am taken by the minimal nature of the problems with the
distributions. Sure there are always app hiccups. But.. problems with the
core OS components are (happily) NON EXISTENT. That speaks volumes. Gone are
the pains of the gcc 2-3 transition. Gone are the horror stories of the
kernel 2.2-2.4-2.6 rifts, the apache 1.3-2.0 trans, php and MySQL growing
pains. Gone are the errors and seg faults in the infrastructure, such as
gcc, bind, dhcp, samba, automount, pick-your-favorite, etc.... (although the
"smartest guys in the room" are still dorking with the automount voodoo
(don't get sucked into the registry model))
I jumped on board with mdk 7.0 (Air distro) and rode through the stock
offering implosion and crippled 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 9.0, 9.1 and 9.2 releases,
picked up SuSE with 8.0, and enjoyed the (albeit bumpy) ride through 8.1,
8.2 (not bad though), and the (fairly stable) ride through 9.0, 9.1, 9.2
and 9.3. I've tried every release. I'm not prejudiced, I have servers and
desktops running mdk 7.2 (I'm lazy) , 10.1, 2005LE, SuSE 9.0, 9.2 and 9.3.
Today, the point is: SuSE 9.3 and mdk 2005LE are awesome. They are both
basically point and shot OS's. Yast and urpmi work (almost flawlessly). Grab
a box, shuffle CDs (or DVD), update, configure and you're done. All hardware
is amazingly recognized!!! (OK WPA and wireless can still be a challenge) I
run both SuSE and mdk servers and desktops along with the Gates crippleware.
We have finally gotten to the point (with a recent HD crash) that we are
loading Linux as the desktop OS. That is a milestone!
Unfortunately, we still require crippleware to run QuickBooks --- try
handing your accountant an GNUcash file -- (LOL). And... unfortunately, when
I go to trial, I still run crippleware. There are no viable substitutes for
Summation, Trial Director, Visionary, power(less) point, and other trail
tools. (does anybody hear OPPORTUNITY HERE??) (Summation gets $1900.00 per
copy >= $5k for a 5 node license) OO is not yet a contender. (really simple
stuff, database to collect transcript notes and issues, ability to search,
sync and present transcript text and video, image-slideshows, etc..) The
same shortfalls appear in Linux CAD software. Someone needs to contact
AutoDesk or develop a similar CAD program with topo capability for land
development applications, etc. But (sticking to the subject) -- damnit we're
close...
That's it though -- think about the other 99% of the business
application handling Linux can do. When I, as an attorney and engineer, can
utilize Linux for 95% of what I need to do, securely and with confidence,
from servers to the desktop, the open source vision is almost complete! My
servers have been exclusively Linux since 2000. The core server apps are
bulletproof and it has only gotten better. The desktop has made huge leaps
in the last 18 months. So much so that people now believe that GUI config
tools are the way to configure a Linux box -- go figure... ( so much for #
vi /etc/sysconfig/network...)
All in all, if a weird lawyer can sit back and objectively say, "I see
little or no barriers between transitioning between mickeysoft and Linux for
what I do" (subject to the exceptions above), it says -- we have come a long
way!
On both sides of the fence -- keep up the great work! I can't wait for
SuSE 10.0 and mdk 2006 (or whatever the new name may be..)
--
David C. Rankin, J.D., P.E.
RANKIN LAW FIRM, PLLC
510 Ochiltree Street
Nacogdoches, Texas 75961
(936) 715-9333
(936) 715-9339 fax
www.rankinlawfirm.com
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