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The Case Against The Case Against Running Windows Apps
...Continued from page 1 In addition, there is the issue of file compatibility. This is perhaps the largest hurdle stopping tech savvy users from switching to FOSS applications. Most people that work within the "business world" have no real choice but to use proprietary applications, even if they want to do otherwise. The most obvious example of file lock-in is MS Office. I have used OpenOffice on Windows and Linux since version 1.0, and I am a big proponent. However, the file compatibility is not 100%. While it is very good, the incompatibility is enough to make it impossible to use for many people. One serious .doc conversion mistake in a document sent to a client is enough for a boss to mandate "No more damn OpenOffice." And then there is the issue of "that one" application for which there is no true equivalent. If you work as a software developer in an office that uses Visual Studio for example, then there is no way for you avoid using Windows. There are many IDEs for other platforms, this is true. But to share Solution and Project files, to be binary compatible, to discuss exact debug errors, there is simply no other way. This single application has the power to lock your office desktop into Windows. I realize that some readers are saying to themselves that Linux is not that hard to learn, or that the difference between GIMP and PhotoShop are not that huge, or that anyone can learn to "work around" the compatibility issues between Microsoft Office and OpenOffice. To those readers I say, "True, for you." But you have an unrealistic or naive view of the way 90% of people use computers and how IT departments operate. Some readers will also say that the boss must be convinced to eschew choices such as Visual Studio. I agree! If it's possible, I whole heartedly agree. But this will succeed rarely. And when it doesn't, we can revert to Wine and VMWare to let us keep our Linux platforms running. The lack of applications on Linux is not "becoming obsolete," as Mr. Byfield states. Not, at least, in the near future. If this were the case, the market share difference between desktop Windows and Linux would also be rapidly disappearing. Applications are the key to market share. And for many people, the applications that they want or need to use simply aren't available natively on Linux. Supporting native FOSS applications is a good cause. We can all agree on that. But when Google decides to devote time and money towards improving Wine, we should not look that gift horse in the mouth. It is the bridge we can use to offer those essential applications on the GNU/Linux platform. Go to page: 1 2 |
