Inhibitors to Adopting (Installing or Upgrading) Linux

Inhibitors to adopting (installing or upgrading) Linux (such as RedHat or SuSE) or UNIX (AIX, HP-UX, Solaris) in a Desktop-Workstation environment Unix-like operating systems have been the top choice for use on servers for decades, but were generally considered unsuitable for end-user desktops until recently. Starting in the late 1990s, Unix-like systems, especially Linux have made significant inroads in the Windows-dominated desktop market. UNIX provides many advantages, however there are significant obstacles to deploying it in a desktop environment.

The fact that most employees within an organization not already using Unix desktops have probably never used Unix may be the most obvious obstacle. Users can usually be retrained, though this does present some difficulties. In addition to the end users, system administrators must also be retrained to support and maintain Unix workstations. Most organizations use Windows on their desktop computers and are dependent on software intended for Windows. Migrating to Unix requires replacing any software that lacks a Unix version.

Running all new software frequently requires converting old data, which can be a difficult and time consuming process. Throughout history, humans have been resistant to making significant changes voluntarily, but have proven reasonably adaptable when the change is forced. Users are generally unlikely to be excited by the prospect of learning a different operating system and application software, but usually grow to enjoy the stability and consistency of Unix that other systems lack.

(Wilson) Training Windows users on Unix is generally little more difficult than training them to use a new version of Windows. (Zamaris) Using Unix does have one significant difference for the end-users: the crashes, unexpected configuration changes and malware infestations common to Windows systems will no longer interfere with worker productivity. No matter what the benefits are, there will always be a few users who are unable to deal with any changes whatsoever. It is generally not beneficial for an organization to employ people who cannot adapt.

Migrating to Unix desktops provides a good opportunity to identify and terminate them. Larger organizations employ system administrators to maintain their workstations, and rarely require Unix experience as a condition of employment if the desktops being maintained are not running Unix. Retraining system administrators may be more difficult than end users because the differences between Windows and Unix are more significant for deployment and administration than normal desktop applications. Windows system administrators have to work within the limitations of Windows.

If Windows or a third-party utility is unable to accomplish a task, the way to accomplish it is to have custom software written for that purpose. Writing custom applications is usually a non-option due to the time and cost involved. Unix administrators are used to being able to do almost anything, including making changes to the kernel of the operating system. (Bradbury) Training a Windows administrator on Unix means more than introducing a different set of tools; it requires a paradigm shift that some administrators will be unable to make.

System administrators who lack the intelligence to learn a more flexible system like Unix are generally a liability and should be replaced as part of any Unix migration. Migrating to Unix desktops requires Unix applications. Many commonly used desktop applications run only on Windows, not Unix. Replacing all the programs on a desktop computer is easy in situations where only a small set of tools is used, but for workers use a large number of sophisticated programs to accomplish their everyday tasks, replacing all their software is a significant task.

Most open-source applications for Windows, such as Openoffice and Mozilla run on Unix as well, but proprietary software is less likely to. (Wilson) Most Windows applications can be run on Linux and binary-compatible Unix variants on common PC hardware using emulation software such as Netraverse Win4Lin, but such software is expensive. Free emulators do exist, but compatibility is more limited. Fortunately, the open-source community is strongly centered around Unix and has created replacements for most popular desktop applications.

Using replacements requires more user retraining than running emulators and keeping the same applications, but usually has significant performance advantages. Custom software presents less of a problem than proprietary applications since the source code is usually available. In many cases, it is possible to port the software to Unix without making major changes to its function. Migrating data is often the most severe problem encountered with new software. Windows programs often use binary file formats that are difficult or impossible to access using generic tools.

(Raymond) Equivalents to very popular programs, such as Microsoft Office can usually read and write the same file formats, but the results are sometimes suboptimal. Users can expect occasional formatting glitches with more complex files. Unlike the text-based formats usually used by Unix programs, binary file formats are not human-readable and do not contain internal documentation for programmers trying to write conversion filters. Sometimes, software vendors do not release documentation about their file formats to the public at all in order to lock users in to their products.

The result is that filters to convert binary file formats are difficult to write and are not always available. Lock in is good for the vendor, but bad for users. It is desirable to attempt to move off of software that uses undocumented proprietary file formats as quickly as possible. Migrating to Unix desktops is not always easy, but is a worthwhile endeavor for many organizations.

Training users results in a short-term loss of productivity, and may require terminating untrainable workers, but the long-term productivity benefits of a reliable system offset the costs. System administrators also require retraining, but the productivity benefits to administrators are even more significant than for end users, and can pay for itself by reducing the number of administrators required. The number of administrators can be reduced during the training process, which will reveal the administrators who lack the intelligence to properly administer Unix.

Making sure all the software required for worker productivity is replaced can be a difficult task, but is almost always possible. When it is not.