What’s Linux Gonna Cost You?
If there’s one thing about Linux that everyone, even detractors, must admit is a good thing, it’s the price tag.
Linux is free — free to download, free to run on as many computers as you like, free to modify as needed and redistribute under similar conditions.
This doesn’t mean it’s not going to cost you anything, though.
Every piece of software comes with a certain cost. That cost is not always tangibly measured, though — it’s not always just a dollar value. It also comes in the form of the amount of time, effort, and manpower required to get it working as needed.
And this, in turn, is something that comes as a counterpoint to the price tag: The total cost required to make Linux a viable solution in a particular environment.
From what I’ve seen, that cost varies enormously for individual users — sometimes so much so that it can be a little deceptive, because those costs are often self-reported.
For instance, if I’m the sort of person who likes to tinker (and I am), then I’m likely to absorb a lot more of the cost of setting up and getting used to the learning curve of a Linux system. Since it’s the sort of thing I like to do anyway, it’s all good.
However, if I’m someone who just wants to get work done now, and I spend hours struggling with a particular distribution to do something that in my mind is trivial (like getting power management to work right), I’m not going to be as forgiving, and I’m more likely to brush off comments about trying another distribution. In my mind, I’ve already had so much of my time mulcted by Linux, so why wade any deeper into that particular swamp?
My point here isn’t really to argue the merits of commercially supported software vs. free software (or even free software for which you can buy optional commercial support, like Canonical’s support packages for Ubuntu). It’s about perception, and the sheer breadth of perception about whether or not a given thing “works” is telling.
If someone else who seems to be the same kind of user or has the same kind of work habits as you switches to Linux and has a bad experience, that doesn’t mean you’ll have a bad one, too. Or a good one. The only real way to find out is to try it on your own — and, again, that’ll come at a cost.
For most people, that cost is paid in time but if you do have the time to spare, it doesn’t hurt to see for yourself. The hard part with Linux can be figuring out where to start and what to start with.
In a future blog article I’ll talk a bit more about different types of users and which distributions they may want to kick off their Linux experiences with.
Microsoft Faces Petition To Defeat Office 2007 Standard
A group headed by a European patent-reform activist has launched an online petition that aims to defeat Microsoft’s attempt to have a new file format used in Office 2007 applications approved as a standard.
The Foundation For Free Infrastructure Information has launched a Web site to capture signatures for its petition, which seeks to block the ratification of Microsoft’s Office Open XML format by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The FFII calls OOXML a “broken standard” and lists a number of objections on its site: www.NoOOXML.org.
Among its arguments:
The Open Document Format has already been established as the standard for office documents; Office 2007 produces a file format that’s different from what’s described by the OOXML specification published by Microsoft; there’s no guarantee that developers can write software that implements OOXML without being liable for patent lawsuits or fees imposed by Microsoft; and there’s a bug in OOXML’s spreadsheet format that forbids any date before the year 1900.
FFII’s president is Pieter Hintjens, a Belgian software developer and patent-reform activist who has his own Wikipedia entry. FFII claims more than 20,000 individuals have signed the petition to date.
OOXML is under consideration for “fast track” approval by the ISO and the group is expected to make a decision on whether to sign off on the format as a standard later this year.
Microsoft has argued that publishing OOXML as a standard will benefit business users.
Among other things, it will result in the emergence of more robust document storage and management tools for Office from third parties, according to Microsoft.
Ubuntu Linux Ain’t Easy As Dell
It’s tough to challenge conventional wisdom, especially when that challenge raises doubts about the wildly popular version of Linux called Ubuntu.
However, doubts are exactly what I had after finishing my Ubuntu “safari”.
I had to work through numerous glitches to get laptop and desktop installs up and running.
I’m now mystified as to why Ubuntu has become so widely accepted as the version of Linux for newbies to try.
Anyone who doesn’t want to become their own one-person support shop would be far better off spending $50 for a commercially supported release like Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, which installed for me without a hitch.
As for enterprises, they certainly can’t afford to go unsupported and they’d better spend that money if they’re going to go open source. Hey, it’s still a lot cheaper than Windows.
Dell’s recent embrace of Ubuntu has given the distro additional momentum. It’s what led me to my test, to see whether it’d really be all that easy to get the OS going on a randomly chosen laptop.
The desktop was an afterthought. I figured from all I’d read that that installation would be trivial but it wasn’t.
Honestly, I was completely prepared to like Ubuntu and to move on quickly to another project but the deeper I got into the review, the more I felt that I had to recount my trials so that inexperienced users could get a look at what they might be in for.
I also believe that Linux fans need to be more upfront in addressing the legitimate need for better support.
More importantly, I’m now of the opinion that both Windows and Linux are too often discussed in the most simplistic terms, where people are either considered “for” or “against” Microsoft.
That isn’t fair, just like it’s not fair to accept without challenge the notion that Ubuntu is the solution for everyone looking for a good, free OS.
You’ll have to decide for yourself whether Ubuntu is right for you.
Please let me know your thoughts on Ubuntu in particular and Linux in general. Constructive comments are always welcome.
OpenLogic Expands Open-Source Repository
Attention my fellow Open-Source web developers and application programmers. I have some good news.
Today OpenLogic released an upgrade of its open-source platform and expanded its library of certified software with more Ajax-related applications.
OpenLogic Enterprise 4.6 is used to acquire, support and control packages of open source software that has been pre-approved by OpenLogic as enterprise ready.
The software is accessible to the platform through the company’s online Certified Library, which has been expanded to more than 300 software packages and more than 1,200 versions of those packages.
Within that list, OpenLogic has increased the number of Ajax-related packages for building Web 2.0 applications.
Other popular software with new versions in the upgraded repository include ActiveMQ, Apache HTTP Server, AspectJ, JasperReports, Maven, Tomahawk, MySQL, PHP, PostgreSQL, Regexp and Tomcat.
New supported platforms include Sun Solaris 8 and 9, in addition to Solaris 10.
OpenLogic Enterprise 4.6 has a new automated installation process that deploys application packages, including database and Web server, within 30 minutes.
In addition, the upgrade has an update manager that can pull updates from the OpenLogic library. Enterprises decide which packages are downloaded.
All available software has passed a 42-point certification process set up by OpenLogic.
As an added bonus, one-call technical support is available and all packages are indemnified against intellectual property risks. OpenLogic also handles all software updates and security packages.
“OpenLogic customers include dozens of Fortune 100 companies that not only require a trusted source for a wide breadth of open source products, but also need to trust that the available fixes and security patches are always up to date,” Steve Grandchamp, chief executive of OpenLogic, said in a statement.
Google Unplugged
Google acknowledged last week that, sometimes, people aren’t connected to the Internet. Who knew? 
At Google’s first Developer Day, the company introduced free, open source software called Gears. It was a strategic turning point for the Web’s highest-flying company.
Google Gears will help developers make Web apps work in offline mode. Gears is a JavaScript API that works with a plug-in for most browsers.
To understand the significance of the move, look at a similar revelation Google had in 2005.
That’s when programmer Paul Rademacher reverse engineered some code in Google Maps to create HousingMaps.com, combining Google Maps with rental information from Craigslist.
That development convinced Google they needed to open up as an online platform. The company’s publicly available APIs led to today’s wave of mashups.
Google’s offline move sets up a confrontation with Microsoft, since the capability addresses a glaring weakness in many online apps, including Google’s.
Using Google Docs & Spreadsheets or Microsoft Word could become a matter of choice, rather than a matter of connectivity, not that anyone at Google would ever contemplate a competitor.
Google Gears makes browser-based applications more of a threat to Microsoft’s business model of getting people to pay for software.
Google is first applying it only to its Reader, which checks a person’s favorite Web sites and stores updates. Google’s mail, calendar and Docs & Spreadsheets applications are likely next candidates.
What’s cool about Google Gears is that any developer can use the platform to offline-enable their web apps.
I’m very excited that Google is opening up more ways for developers to build on Google data and infrastructure and by releasing Gears, Google is making it a lot easier.
Something to note is Google’s offline approach also is a recognition that Microsoft is right in insisting that not all computing will take place in the Internet cloud.
Microsoft’s been touting a vision of “software plus services” that relies on Internet-connected desktop apps and more enterprise software-as-a-service companies, such as CRM vendor RightNow, recognize the need for some client software.
Google’s get-together last week shows it’s paying more attention to developers. I can’t see this being a bad thing. Can you?
Dell Releases Linux Desktops, Notebooks
Dell plans to release two desktops and a notebook running Ubuntu Linux, launching the highest-profile market showcase for the open source operating system.
The XPS 410n and Dimension E520n desktops and the Inspiron E1505n notebook are scheduled to make their debut at 6:00 PM EDT.
The consumer computers will run factory-installed Ubuntu 7.04. The long-awaited release is a landmark for Linux in the consumer market.
Until now, no computer maker with the market strength of Dell has made a similar commitment to supporting the free software.
The systems come with hardware support through Dell’s normal support channels. Software support will come from a variety of dedicated Web sites and Linux forums, Dell said.
Buyers can choose service upgrades from Canonical, the sponsor of Ubuntu. They include a 30-day “get started” service or a one-year basic or standard service.
To help customers get more help with running Linux, Dell has created a Linux Forum that offers buyers an online channel for discussing experiences and sharing information.