| The pragmatic desktop Linux user |
May 15, 2006
Opinion: Sometimes, you can't get what you want. That's the point Robin "Roblimo" Miller makes in his pained confession at NewsForge, that when it comes to the video production that makes up 10 percent of his work time, it's best done using Camtasia, a proprietary Windows-only program. Argh!
But, what can you do?
Well, the honest, work-a-day answer is: grin and bear it.
Miller takes pains to show that there really isn't an affordable or good replacement for Camtasia for his purposes.
I have to agree with him. For what he's doing, the only sensible choice is the one he's made.
I'm lucky enough that everything I do, I can do on Linux. Mind you, I do need to use Wine to run Quicken and iTunes, but other than that, my Linux workstations are Windows-software free.
Many people aren't that lucky.
Novell, as many of you know, is working on trying to talk ISVs (independent software vendors) into translating the most popular Windows programs into Linux. With thousands of users asking for Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk AutoCAD, and Adobe/Macromedia Dreamweaver, maybe we'll see native versions of these in Linux sometime soon.
Even so, there will still be other programs that keep users from running a Linux desktop.
Darn it.
As Miller points out, most people and companies can do 90 percent of what they need to do on a Linux desktop. The bad news is that that final 10 percent varies from company to company. For Miller, video's the problem child. For many businesses I know, its accounting software.
Yes, I know about GnuCash, TurboCash, and Lazy8Ledger.
However, the companies I know already have people who are invested in QuickBooks, MYOB, and Peachtree. They're not going to change anytime soon.
Will the change ever come?
Sure.
We've already come much farther along with the Linux desktop than anyone would have ever dreamed.
As Miller points out, when he first tried Linux around in 1996, mounting a CD-ROM and setting up a printer were big challenges. When I started, I was compiling Linux from source code because I had to, not because I wanted to.
In five years, I predict, 90 percent of all businesses will be able to run 100 percent of their preferred software on a Linux desktop. The ISVs (independent software developres) will continue to bring their software to Linux, and open-source accounting programs, perhaps one of ones I've mentioned, will make the jump from niche program to market-power.
Someday, someday soon, most of you will join me in being able to do all your desktop computing on Linux.
I can't wait.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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