# Vista vs. Ubuntu and the value proposition of a work in progress



## MeanDean (Apr 16, 2002)

Steve Ballmer said last Thursday that Vista is a work in progress. 

With that in mind, and if my office, contact management, presentation, web administration, and other applications are all web-based, then what is the value proposition of sticking it out with Microsoft's expensive work in progress, versus a more cost effective work in progress such as Ubuntu?



I ponder this question in a bit more detail over on my blog ... but discussions both there and here are welcome.

I think it is as pertinent a question to home users as it is to those running the IT operations for churches, charities and small offices.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

I suspect that Windows is maintaining its customer base primarily because of the steep learning curve associated with migrating to another operating system. Most people are familiar with Windows so few managers want to suffer the productivity loss of putting their employees in front of Linux workstations. The pertinent question is; do you want your secretary typing letters or fooling with Ubuntu?

As for Vista in particular, XP is a better choice for the time being.


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## MeanDean (Apr 16, 2002)

Nevada said:


> I suspect that Windows is maintaining its customer base primarily because of the steep learning curve associated with migrating to another operating system. Most people are familiar with Windows so few managers want to suffer the productivity loss of putting their employees in front of Linux workstations. The pertinent question is; do you want your secretary typing letters or fooling with Ubuntu?
> 
> As for Vista in particular, XP is a better choice for the time being.


Well, again we agree on a number of points.

XP is certainly a better choice for the time being - and I think the underlying root of most discontent.

As for the learning curve, an interesting comment on my blog which says in effect, is the product actually that difficult to learn - or is it just a matter of inflexible work forces?

I've seen enough KDE, Gnome and Software as a Service applications to think it's unfortunately more an issue of the latter over the former.

That said, I'm also thinking that in an fuel-price inflated, down-dollar driven economy that hardware prices will make many consider the price of learning something new over buying something new.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

MeanDean said:


> That said, I'm also thinking that in an fuel-price inflated, down-dollar driven economy that hardware prices will make many consider the price of learning something new over buying something new.


For home users that could very well happen, and that may be what finally ignites the Linux revolution. However, in business no manager wants to be the one to mandate a migration to Linux that may result in an immediate 30% reduction in productivity.


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## MeanDean (Apr 16, 2002)

Nevada said:


> For home users that could very well happen, and that may be what finally ignites the Linux revolution. However, in business no manager wants to be the one to mandate a migration to Linux that may result in an immediate 30% reduction in productivity.


I don't entirely disagree ... but as more and more functionality is supported by the SaaS model ... the less and less such a migration becomes an unmitigated risk.


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## L-MO (Apr 17, 2008)

A 30% reduction in productivity is assuming a business bases their production numbers on digital input/output. In many cases that is simply not accurate. Most businesses uses computers as a tool and not usually the defining method of productivity.

A computer user does not know Microsoft product commands, utilities, etc without training. Sure you can say that training starts at home and during school sessions. A productive Office Suite user, in most cases, has never exposed to an alternative way of producing that spreadsheet or slideshow. They learned how to use that set of applications over time both formally and informally.

Introduce Ubuntu (not my Linux choice but I wont get into that) and the Gnome environment. Learning curve is the first thing most people will say is too steep. Can't afford the production drop. Nevada did a great job explaining this. It is a very real and important factor to consider.

Vista is not the answer. I think most everyone agrees on this. XP is a very good operating system. Can it outlast Vista or the next Windows 7 - no way. Microsoft is reluctantly continuing support because of the consumer backlash they would prefer to avoid.

KDE is more Windows-like that Gnome Linux distros. Is that any better? Not really. I run a Mac. I consider Gnome a Mac-like flavor. I like MEPIS, PCLOS-Gnome, and DSL as my favorite Linux distros. I can say that I have not gotten bored trying them out. Ubuntu needs better WLAN support before I can move it up my list of favorite Linux distros. All the distros take a little getting used to but I would say for certain that neither KDE, Gnome, or Mac are any harder to learn than a Microsoft product. In many cases they are easier.

It is purely a mindset. If you are ready to learn a system (that just may be completely free) then you do it. You apply the same time spent to learning a Windows system to a non-Windows system. You'll never stop learning on any operating system but you'll be able to pick up a new OS just as fast or faster than Windows.

As an exercise, just try to count the number of hours you have spent trying to work through Microsoft (or other PC-based) programs. Apply that time to another OS and you reduce that 30% productivity reduction BIGTIME.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

One indication of the trend is the continued use of Microsoft Office products, particularly Word. There are alternatives to Word, even open source (free) alternatives, but Word continues to outsell the rest. All word processors basically to the same thing with the same commands, but familiarity is a powerful selling feature. People aren't willing to give that up, at least not yet.


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## L-MO (Apr 17, 2008)

Having used Open Office quite a bit and Pages in Mac, I am happy to say that word processing is not linked to Microsoft.

Actually, during my days as a UNIX programmer I used VI as my editor. Now that is a word processing application. Confusing? Yes - for the first hour. Then you learn how to toggle and make the keyboard do the work. I think VI is what most modern-day word processing applications were built from. The main difference being VI uses no mouse and the modern-day apps encourage the mouse.

I firmly believe it is a 'marketing issue'.


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## MoBackwoods (Mar 13, 2008)

MeanDean said:


> Steve Ballmer said last Thursday that Vista is a work in progress.


Yep, Vista is a work in progress......it just hasn't reached the bottom of the toilet bowl yet!


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## MeanDean (Apr 16, 2002)

L-MO said:


> A 30% reduction in productivity is assuming a business bases their production numbers on digital input/output. In many cases that is simply not accurate. Most businesses uses computers as a tool and not usually the defining method of productivity ...
> 
> ... As an exercise, just try to count the number of hours you have spent trying to work through Microsoft (or other PC-based) programs. Apply that time to another OS and you reduce that 30% productivity reduction BIGTIME.


For commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions - I would agree. But there continues to emerge in the software as a service (SaaS) arena applications that not only move the worker off the desktop and into the webspace, but do so by redefining and optimizing a process' workflow. 37Signals perhaps being the epitome of this ... though Google is a verb.


Nevada said:


> One indication of the trend is the continued use of Microsoft Office products, particularly Word. There are alternatives to Word, even open source (free) alternatives, but Word continues to outsell the rest. All word processors basically to the same thing with the same commands, but familiarity is a powerful selling feature. People aren't willing to give that up, at least not yet.


Word is indeed a commercial kingpin - but so was WordPerfect, and before that WordStar until either had applications that not only redefined the user experience but weren't crushed under the weight of feature bloat. 

Think about it in these terms, how much of what you do on a daily basis with Word could actually be done with Google Docs? Or put another way, who where uses even a fraction (say 30%-) of the features infused into Word (most merely to make the sale)?


MoBackwoods said:


> Yep, Vista is a work in progress......it just hasn't reached the bottom of the toilet bowl yet!


Perhaps because such things always float to the top when a greater % of it is comprised of fat?


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

When it to comes operating systems, the majority of computer users don't actually buy the OS - it comes preinstalled on whatever system they purchase. Yes, I'm sure that Microsoft gets their "cut" for every Vista system sold, but in reality, how much is it costing the end-user in terms of price? 

No doubt, the many many flavours of Linux have continued to improve over time, but Linux making significant gains as a "common desktop" is a longshot at best. Bottom line is that Linux as a desktop is just too unfamiliar and too inconvenient for the majority of computer users.



MeanDean said:


> That said, I'm also thinking that in an fuel-price inflated, down-dollar driven economy that hardware prices will make many consider the price of learning something new over buying something new.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

L-MO said:


> A 30% reduction in productivity is assuming a business bases their production numbers on digital input/output. In many cases that is simply not accurate. Most businesses uses computers as a tool and not usually the defining method of productivity.


When I did engineering work for the oil industry I always seemed to be typing a something with Word. Such as typing a report about what I saw in the plant, typing about what I was planning for the plant, typing about a simulation I did, typing about what was said at a meeting I attended, typing about some analytical data I get back from the lab, and so on. If ONLY 30% of what I did was using Windows and Word I would be surprised.

Among the engineering staff we had a standing humor answer for what we had been doing lately, which was "Oh, just generating more worthless drivel." Of course that referred to generating reports, which I really wondered if anyone would even read. It sometimes seemed that I was just generating fodder to fill corporate filing cabinets.

Go to any office building and you'll see people with their noses in computer monitors as the #1 pastime, and most are using Windows. What job DOESN'T involve a computer any more? A few years ago I setup a network at an auto parts store in the remote Arizona desert. The owner joked with me by saying, "You would think a guy could run a parts store in the middle of the desert without a computer network, wouldn't you?" Evidently the answer is no, you can't...


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## Klapton (Mar 9, 2008)

Rule #1 for Operating Systems:

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Windows XP works just fine for me, thanks. The only real reason we will every have to change from XP any time soon will be because MS will eventually stop supporting it. And the only reason they will stop supporting it will be to force people to buy their new stuff.


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