Vista worries cause businesses to consider Macs and Linux

[CadCrazy]

KACE, a systems management appliance company, announced on Nov. 19 that its new survey revealed that 90 percent of the Windows users are concerned about migrating to Vista, and that 44 percent would consider deploying Macs or Linux-based systems to avoid Vista migration.

While Microsoft claims that Vista deployments are increasing, analysts, such as Forrester, observe that business Vista adoption has been going extremely slowly and that Linux is becoming a serious contender for the enterprise desktop.

KACE, which focuses on system management rather than having its own dog in the desktop operating system wars, sells system administration appliances that run on FreeBSD. Its appliances can be used to mange both desktops and servers running Windows, Linux, Solaris and Mac OS.

In response to concerns about unwanted complexity to their heterogeneous IT environments, 44 percent of respondents reported they would consider deployment of alternative operating systems, such as Macintosh and Linux, to avoid migrating to Vista. A mere 13 percent see their company moving all its desktops to Vista. Of those who consider using alternative operating systems, 89 percent said it would be beneficial to use a single systems management interface to manage all types of operating systems in their environments.

In a follow-up
story, in eWEEK Careers, Howard Graylin, a senior technical analyst in Ridgeland, Miss., echoed the concerns of many IT staffers when he said: "Personally, I'm dreading the amount of time it'll take to upgrade each machine from a hardware standpoint—adding memory or whatever—and from an operating system upgrade. It's just time consuming."

Many IT professionals are so concerned about the problems with working with Vista that they'd rather give an entirely different operating system a try. The online survey with 961 respondents (PDF Link) was commissioned by KACE to gather data about the perceived impact of Vista on IT and specifically their operating system adoption strategies.

The survey group was not self-selected. Instead, an independently selected group of IT professionals from small, midsize and large organizations were e-mailed and invited to participate in the Web survey in November 2007. The 961 participants were not compensated for participation, and represented a wide range of IT functions including hands-on professionals, team managers, and business owners with many participants indicating they had multiple roles within their organization.

The research showed that IT departments of all sizes have grave concerns about deploying Vista, and are even choosing to deploy alternative operating systems. This has led to a new set of challenges, such as the difficulties derived from managing multiple operating systems and a lack of familiarity with non-Windows alternative operating systems.

Still, 44 percent are considering switching from Windows to an alternative. The most frequently mentioned Windows replacement was Macintosh with 28 percent. Red Hat Linux was cited almost as frequently, with 23 percent. SUSE Linux was cited by a further 18 percent of participants and other Linux platforms were chosen by 9 percent of participants. Four percent of participants were unsure of which operating system they would be most likely to choose.

One reason for this surprisingly large number is that virtualization is viewed as a key enabling technology for a switch away from Windows with 67 percent of participants reporting that the use of virtualized environments has made it easier to implement alternative operating systems.

Virtualization through programs like VirtualBox and Virtuozzo, the widespread adoption of Xen as the basis for virtualization systems from everyone from Red Hat and Novell to Oracle to Microsoft and VMware have all made alternative operating systems much more approachable to Windows users.

"Microsoft, up to this point, has been fighting an uphill battle with Vista largely due to software compatibility and stability issues which are scaring off IT departments from deploying it," said Diane Hagglund of King Research, which conducted the survey for KACE.

"These same IT departments are evaluating alternative methods in order to stave off Vista deployment, but instead are facing new challenges related to managing heterogeneous environments. The added cost and time spent on deployment and education of alternative operating systems have brought to light the importance of systems management devices that deliver a single interface for diverse operating systems."

The bottom line is that 90 percent of participants are concerned about migrating to Windows Vista. Fifty-three percent have no plans, even with Vista SP 1 in sight, to deploy Vista at all and only 13 percent expect they will eventually be fully deployed on Vista. Indeed, far more companies—44 percent—are considering Mac OS and/or Linux rather than switching to Vista.


Source

[naveen_reloaded]

Vista will emerge as king of os withing few years

[bikdel]

^^ are you tryin to go offtopic??

[Gigacore]

@ naveen.. u are right.. when microsoft will launch next OS, we feel vista is better and the new one (7) is crappy!

Like we said, XP rocks - Vista $ucks !

[ravi_9793]

Vista SP1 is soon going to release..and I hope most of the vista related problem will be solved.

And I don't think it is going to happen. Atleast bussiness man blindly buy windows OS...because of its great support and ease to use.

[fun2sh]

Originally Posted by naveen_reloaded

Vista will emerge as king of os withing few years

yeah me too is now enjoyin the vista of VISTA. N now i dont like XP very much n i m pretty sure this OS wil rock after the SP1 release.
wen i first installed vista on my lappy i thought wat a crappy thing it is with no support for many old programs but now ITS ROCKIN FOR ME but still i cant say XP SUCKS (like we use to say abt win98 wen xp came.)

[bikdel]

98 was a sucker.... only until windows 2000 did ms release something STABLE...

more programs were made for 98 than for any other windows but98 really sucked... 10 times as many BSODs and freezes.. all buggy.... phew...

XP rocks.!!

[gxsaurav]

So instead of sticking to thre existing Windows XP computers & use there existing applications fine, this survey states that people will migrate to a new OS in which there existing software might or might not work via WINE.


Gr8 Survey...total BS

[praka123]

Linux must emerge as a choice for Enterprise although, major sites are on Linux or BSDs.
Vista should be replaced by Ubuntu.many Vista users are dual-booting Linux.that is a positive point.

Indians should lead the world to move to FOSS and Linux removing the M$(pirated) monopoly in India.It saves M$ licenses cost and we get a stable platform for Computing in Linux or BSDs esp OpenBSD,FreeBSD.

Why should we follow blindly to upgrade to Vista,for the news that M$ just released another OS?think logically and move to another platforms and make the monopoly OS loose their grounds in India,Nepal,Srilanka(hope digit users are there too ).
There is nothing we gain by supporting Microsoft Operating systems and services except for fanboys,the satisfaction of their defence.
Vista and M$ is like a white washed tomb inside dirty.moving to linux has its own advantages.now the h/w industry is focusing on Vista as major os and makes users upgrade their systems for some cheap 3D things which ubuntu in 256MB RAM can do.also remember the e-waste generated with Vista as vista cannot run in old systems(i know fanboys argue!).
and directx-which makes every gaming freak leaving their new gfx card for latest from nvidia or amd for dx 10 to dx10.1 which is a costly choice.
better move to opengl which is cross platform.it saves!
Vista SP1-i dont believe anything better expected for now.it needs to prove.

My sincere advice is- move to OSS as much as possible.leave this M$ and windows environment for permanent leaving the m$ monopoly.India should lead this cause.

[csczero]

XP ROCKS !!! Mircrosoft ROCKS !!! ..........linux yawn !!! :-P

[praka123]

^pity get updated urself.see below one, ubuntu gutsy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4fTh0x3xLE

still,u want that DRM Vista.i cant help u.

[spitfire]

I hate microsoft...but the bottomline is..I cant live without windows..

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by praka123

Linux must emerge as a choice for Enterprise although, major sites are on Linux or BSDs.
Vista should be replaced by Ubuntu.many Vista users are dual-booting Linux.that is a positive point.

How do u know, source plz? Just cos u r using Vista & Linux in dual boot doesn't mean everyone is

Indians should lead the world to move to FOSS and Linux removing the M$(pirated) monopoly in India.It saves M$ licenses cost and we get a stable platform for Computing in Linux or BSDs esp OpenBSD,FreeBSD.

Why remove? If Linux is so good then why r they afraid of competition from MS? Isn't competition in any market helpful to consumers?

Why should we follow blindly to upgrade to Vista,for the news that M$ just released another OS?think logically and move to another platforms and make the monopoly OS loose their grounds in India,Nepal,Srilanka(hope digit users are there too ).

U don't wanna upgrade & if your existing Windows installation works fine, then stick to it, as simple as that. Why jump to a new platform & redo everything like configuring the OS & using totally new software which might or might not be inferior to Windows Counterparts.

There is nothing we gain by supporting Microsoft Operating systems and services except for fanboys,the satisfaction of their defence.

We get a OS to work on, lots of jobs & a whole industry.

now the h/w industry is focusing on Vista as major os and makes users upgrade their systems for some cheap 3D things which ubuntu in 256MB RAM can do.also remember the e-waste generated with Vista as vista cannot run in old systems(i know fanboys argue!).

Lolz...r u on pot today.

[iMav]

does some 1 want my experience on ubuntu and vista booting

[Gigacore]

^^ ROFL.. what happened ?

[iMav]

go to the open source section .... hassa nahi toh naam badal doonga

[Batistabomb]

good work cad all the recent technologis are here because of you,thank you

[praka123]

Originally Posted by gx_saurav

How do u know, source plz? Just cos u r using Vista & Linux in dual boot doesn't mean everyone is

I dont have any windows installation of any kind on my pc.but i have to use it elsewhere

Why remove? If Linux is so good then why r they afraid of competition from MS? Isn't competition in any market helpful to consumers?

M$ is not competing,they are sueing for illogical things "infringing" patents my foot!

U don't wanna upgrade & if your existing Windows installation works fine, then stick to it, as simple as that. Why jump to a new platform & redo everything like configuring the OS & using totally new software which might or might not be inferior to Windows Counterparts.

I told u again,I dont have windows on my pc.it ended long back.but yes,still i have to use windows elsewhere.
Jumping to OSS is the best idea.if the new platform is better,why NOT?move to OSS,save costs,have the best security.what ur vista or windows have?more of downtime and for home users it is just a gaming shell thats all.nothing more.for some eyecandy do u think linux or BSD doesnot have an edge?ur sleeping wake up dude!see compiz-fusion on action.

We get a OS to work on, lots of jobs & a whole industry.

these softwares,all should be ported if it is must(like DB's),else use the alternative softwares.

get urself corrected dude!i know u cannot ur the M$ fanboy here na?

[gxsaurav]

Prakash, I m talking about a general customar & not u

Jumping to OSS is the best idea.if the new platform is better,why NOT?move to OSS,save costs,have the best security.

Assuming TIme = Money, why move when everything is already working fine.

what ur vista or windows have?

Games, 3Ds Max, After effect, WMP11, MyPhoneExplorer, ACDSee 9 (unriveled on any platform) & much more....

[praka123]

except games and cad(some..) Linux is fine.
and u forgot or kya? Virus,trogan,spywares,malwares and instability of core-kernel that too came with Vista?
You have to be a nurse taking care of ur windows,it is like in a hospital right?
install spybot,ad-aware,firewalls.and almost all home users of win will be using cracked versions or un-reliable s/ws containing even a rootkit? where is the stability?i have seen windows users have only one solution with them.format,reinstall,format,reinstall....zillion times what benefit?How reliable ur data on Vista?Vista spies with NSA 60 times?where is ur privacy?no.nothing.even XP SP2 tauted to be "stable" by disgruntled Vista users are not so stable!that is the reality.do u want to live in microsoft land where bill gates is the allinall or want to live in India?
India needs cheap and superior platforms which are available with Open Source softwares and Operating systems.We have to save money and in e-wastes for upgradation in India,rather than making the evil,devil Microsoft and its psychopath Ballmer(remember his "developers,developers,developers" shouting )
In Malayala-Manorama, a popular newspaper in Kerala,on Sunday came a ad of M$ and Vista last full page.they are too worried of our state.even netcafe owners uses Linux esp Ubuntu AND most importantly the hardware guys esp the pirated windows installation wizards are now enlightened and offers suse or Ubuntu for new customers(Kochi) and most other cities in Kerala.All thanks to a debian Linux variant be in the syllabus of schools.OSS rocks dude!I know that u cannot afford to tell the reality here.u r a subscriber of msdn,beta tester or more.How can u? and M$ will get naraaz on u right?

I read somewhere that many inside fellas in M$ uses Linux secretly ("") and kde looks too windowish guess why?many VB devels of M$ who resigned long back joined trolltech(qt) hence kde is windowish and caters well to windows power users who have moved to Linux.dont ask me sources!i have to google!and u and ur brother dont want "links" na?

Linux is like (Christ)ians,that lonely sheep(guess who "") is cared more than the herd itself.

[Charan]

^^^
Offtopic: @Prakash for our sake pls format your text .

[Cyrus_the_virus]

This is the technology section and not the fight club. Save all the fights for that section plz.

[Faun]

Originally Posted by praka123

Linux is like (Christ)ians,that lonely sheep(guess who "") is cared more than the herd itself.

lol

i can sense a revolution.

[gxsaurav]

Edit : Following the forum rules, I don't want to kick Linboys's arse again

[bikdel]

hey prakash... okay im not a fanboy of any kind but please dude dont specifically mention a religion, say christanity for that matter...

there maybe more christians here than you can imagine

take care in future..

anyways i agree with that "Platform Change Idea" specially in this region including the south east asian countries


EDIT: My bad, i thought you were making a negetive comment on christians... sorry for not getting it right ...

[Krazy_About_Technology]

Prakash, you do have some points right. OSS is indeed available at low cost (don't use the word cheap, it kinda sounds 'of infringed quality' ). But not much can be said about stability these days coz vista runs rock solid on my lappy. I am not any kinda fan boy, i use the best of both worlds, my favorite windows, vista, and my new favorite, open suse Linux 10.3. previously i dual booted between XP and Fedora 7 (starting right from Red Hat Linux 9 ). I am equally happy with developments in both fields. While Linux is great for me for system study purposes, the sheer amount of 'tinkering' joy it gives me. I love Windows for the sheer amount of productivity software as well as games available for it. Apart from that i find the interface very easy to use, and man font rendering of Linux SUCKS!. It doesn't shows fonts neatly rendered like windows. Fonts are either not smooth on Linux or are excessively bold and i personally don't like that.

And yes the point by gx_saurav that Windows has created a whole industry and a Lotta jobs is indeed, true. I myself am an software engineer primarily working on .NET 2.0 and 3+ technologies. And i love Windows for the .NET framework,it has made programming and designing software a joy for me. I know mono is in development and i had used it on Linux, it only supports .NET 1.1 and partial 2.0, and is not quiet up to the mark (I know the reasons why but this is what it is like now). Also the win forms functionality is also not available on Linux which takes away the ease of developing desktop applications. Market for Linux software development doesn't seems so great to me, personally. Correct me if i am wrong.
Security wise too, Windows is becoming better with less security and system updates in newer OSs. Yeah Vista is an under tested release by MS, this is a fact. But frankly on my PC, after installing 10-15 updates, my system is running on jet speed in both vista and Linux. There is no virus on my system whatsoever and no spyware at all. and i have avast anti-virus disabled on my system. I just installed it as a precaution.Windows systems has always been more vulnerable to Viral threats because of its sheer popularity and business usage. At first script kiddies use to code Viruses to get enough attention quickly which was not possible with linux as you have the whole OS opened up against you, so whats the thrill hacking it? And as businesses have started using computers, and mostly falling by default for Windows, its became a matter of financial gains for most of the hacking community. (Plz note i am talking about black hat hackers only). This can be true for Linux too, as its popularity rises , if not script kiddies, professional virus writers will definitely try to target Linux systems for financial gains.This has seen in previous virus attacks. Linux systems had been used by viruses as backdoors for attacking in DoS kind of attacks, so we can say that attack surface on Linux may be reduced, but it is present.

So cursing one OS while praising other is not the right thing to do in my opinion. Both have their pros and cons, the best we can do is to get the best out of them for the best of us.

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by Krazy_About_Technology

font rendering of Linux SUCKS!. It doesn't shows fonts neatly rendered like windows. Fonts are either not smooth on Linux or are excessively bold on Linux and i personally don't like that.

True.

Security wise too, Windows is becoming better with less security and system updates in newer OSs. Yeah Vista is an under tested release by MS, this is a fact. But frankly on my PC, after installing 10-15 updates, my system is running on jet speed in both vista and Linux. There is no virus on my system whatsoever and no spyware at all. and i have avast anti-virus disabled on my system.

Another user who saw the reality & is out of the age old misconception. I m myself using only Ad muncher & Windows Firewall. Autorun is disabled for pen drives etc so no chance of any virus

[Krazy_About_Technology]

Originally Posted by gx_saurav

Autorun is disabled for pen drives etc so no chance of any virus

Yup, same here. Have disabled Autorun for removable drives and using Windows Firewall (works great!), Windows Defender(Realtime protection, its great too! ), Spybot S&D (just the immunize function) and Disabled Avast Antivirus .

At least for my system, Windows doesn't need any regular pampering , one time config, and it just works. Same is true for Linux also, i had to do some initial config there too and then it works just fine.

[praka123]

@krazy technology:the thing is what you like is not necessarily suitable for a mass of people.without M$ ecosystem and software developments,we can get freed from the monopoly and with Linux and OSS there needs to be a s/w ecosystem which needs to be evolved.till now,we saw M$ becoming richer and more and more countries they make students from small ages settle on M$ technologies thus by making them slaves of their monopoly.

Kids shud be taught Linux and Swatanthra softwares which is NOT belonging to anybody!.also if you felt developing env M$ is very nice,it cannot be helpful to all,it is ur personal choice.

I sincerely believe the alternative ecosystem where proprietory companies lossing grounds shud come.that doesnot mean infosys or other software companies to close down and developers or engineers losing Job.

the alternative option with GNU/Linux means the software would be essentially free, and for bugfixes and updates,the developer or developers can make a subscription system where the companies pay for the bug-fix,update and other support for the concerned.While Home users and students can enjoy the Free Software and having the basic taught.

How to earn money from Free Software is still in thinkpool where different models for payment for livelihood are sorted out.one such site is
http://follars.com means Follars stands for Free, Open Source Dollars.


And regarding viruses for linux,security aspects it is here in the forum there are lot of articles and links posted.
One think-with increasing userbase or enterprise deployment Linux Viruses(only worms!) will not increase.it is because of the unix style permission system that linux uses.and with netfilter iptables FW is not enough,there is Apparmor,NSA SElinux etc to take care of.
Windows Vista or server 2008 cannot even dream of such things.I know windows got network stacks copied straight from unix.still UNIX is UNIX.

[gxsaurav]

Originally Posted by praka123

@krazy technology:the thing is what you like is not necessarily suitable for a mass of people.without M$ ecosystem and software developments,we can get freed from the monopoly and with Linux and OSS there needs to be a s/w ecosystem which needs to be evolved.

If only Linux is there, won't that be bad for consumers too.?

more countries they make students from small ages settle on M$ technologies thus by making them slaves of their monopoly.

WTH...is mehul a slave? is mediator a slave? They chose OSS on there own, no one told them to use OSS.

How to earn money from Free Software is still in thinkpool where different models for payment for livelihood are sorted out.one such site is
http://follars.com means Follars stands for Free, Open Source Dollars.

Lolz...it is still undecided how to make money using OSS