Linux in business - Part 2

Preparation:

This is the most important part of your switch to Linux. Rushing through this part is a very bad idea, so please don't do it.

Identify your needs

What software do you need to run on a day to day basis?
What does each machine in your company need to be able to do?

Explore cross platform software

Before switching, check out cross platform software that has a Windows and a Linux version. Firefox, Google Chrome, LibreOffice, etc. all has versions for both platforms. If you are familiar with the software you will end up using the transition will be a lot easier.

Start checking if your hardware & peripherals are Linux compatible

Most computers and laptops are Linux compatible, but it is still a good idea to find out before you start.

Also a lot of peripherals are simply not Linux compatible. I have a Canon Lide 90 scanner which works on Windows XP, VISTA and 7; but refuses to work on Linux or even Windows 8. What am I saying? Updating your operating system will not guarantee that all your devices will play nicely.

If your printers, plotters, scanners, etc. are not Linux compatible - can you afford to replace everything?

What is the easiest and most reliable way to know if my peripherals are compatible?

Burn yourself a Live CD and boot up Linux, without installing it you are still able to test it. This way you know for sure that your hardware is or is not compatible. It is not difficult to do.

1. Go to http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ and download Unetbootin for your software platform
2. Go to the Peppermint OS web site and download the 32 bit / 64 bit version (if you are a Windows user, right click on My Computer, then left click on Properties. The version of Windows you are running should mention 32 or 64 bit)
3. Run Unetbootin that you downloaded, Click the button with the 3 dots (bottom right) then locate the Peppermint ISO you downloaded in step 2, double click it
4. Plug in a flash drive (warning, it will format the flash drive so use one that does not contain important files)
5. Click on Drive (bottom center) and select the flash drive
6. Reboot
7. Press F2 or Del (depending on your computer) and select Boot from Flash drive, in the boot settings menu.
8. Save and reboot
9. Select Try Peppermint OS when your computer starts up, if you select Install it will install Peppermint (either alongside Windows or erase your hard drive, depending on your choices)

When you shut down, unplug the flash drive and when you boot up again you will be in Windows again,

This is only a very basic tutorial, This will let you try Linux before installing, you can connect your peripherals and try to install them (if you have problems with that, please ask the friendly folks in the Peppermint forum, as they are much smarter than me).

Linux in business - intro

(please note that I am writing this from a South African perspective)

People in business have specific needs. What will work for home users will not always be a good fit for business. Businesses need software that is secure, easy to use -  but does not always need to be easy to set up.

Most people are linked to Microsoft and feel they do not have a choice. With outdated computers, running outdated software. But there is.

There are a lot of companies that still run Windows XP, which today is not a safe move. Why are so many businesses sticking with outdated software that leaves them vulnerable?

1. Keeping up with new software licences is expensive
2. Hardware is expensive, and a lot will need to be replaced when upgrading the OS
3. Support for Linux is lacking / hard to find

After going a little more in depth with these points, we will look at how to set up a small businesses with Linux as the OS, set up a small office network, find a point of sale solution, find a few printers that they can consider, a backup solution and a few other things that will probably come up.

It is going to take a while to compile this and I don't want to reinvent the wheel here so where someone has a great guide I will link to it, instead of redoing it.

If you have any experience in this field, a question or a comment then please post it in the comments.

Ubuntu Phone review - by Electronic Shenanigans

At this point the Ubuntu phone has been launched, although it is not available in my region. Here is a review by Full Circle Magazine. They are my favourite magazine for Ubuntu and Linux news. 

The only thing that is a deal breaker for me, is that there is no WhatsApp for it yet. I am sure though that as the platform grows that it will come.

Would you like to run Ubuntu on your phone? Hopefully Canonical have steered clear from the spyware they used to build into the desktop version of Ubuntu in this version.

The mobile phone world needs at least 3-5 strong players so that everyone stays on their toes.

Research: dual booting Windows 8.1 SL & Peppermint 5

At this point I have bought a Lenovo laptop, one with Superfish. The picture is from here.

So I have decided it would be better to reinstall Windows 8.1 SL with media downloaded from Microsoft and not Lenovo. While scanning with Avast anti virus, I found multiple "infections", addware or spyware or crapware. Whatever it is, I don't want that on my laptop. I do trust that Avast removed everything, but I might as well go all the way here.

The important thing to do now (before formatting or anything else) is to do my homework.

I am currently downloading an ISO from Microsoft, from here.

I created a Live USB, here is how I did it:

• Downloaded the 64 bit ISO from www.peppemintos.com 
• Checked the md5sum 2eb905b8ff3005ef2fa52e32517d0e5f using Winmd5 free from here. 
• Next  used Unetbootin to create the Live USB

At this page, I learned how to boot from a flash drive. Which I did to test and see that Peppermint does in fact run on my laptop. Good news so far.

More homework underway. Updates to follow as soon as I have progress and time to report.

Setting up a new PC: Windows vs Linux

I have some experience setting up new PC's. A new computer is never "instantly" ready to use.

Windows

• Remove the trial version Anti Virus (normally McAfee)
• Remove Wild Tangent trial version game pack
• Decide on an anti virus to use, and install it
• Decide on Office software and install it

Linux

(Granted, I am unable to purchase a laptop with Linux preinstalled. So this all happens after you have installed Linux)

•  Update your system
• No trial crapware to ignore
• Some distros come with Office software, otherwise choose and install

Windows machines come preinstalled with all kinds of extras. Stuff you often could live without. Like Lenovo with Superfish, a company feels they can add to your system (normally because they can make some money out of it - I am sure that McAfee pays companies to have their software preinstalled), never with your best in mind. 

I love that Linux is not bundled with nonsense. Yes, every distro does have apps that they bundle together - but never anything like what Windows vendors do. 

I guess that companies will always do things that they feel they can benefit from. 

One exception is the Acer Build your own cloud. Building your own cloud with your desktop PC, that you can access even when your PC is turned off. If you need a file on your phone or tablet, the app reaches out and turns on your PC remotely. Although this might not be for everyone, in the time we live where cloud computing is becoming more important, this can be a very useful for a lot of people. 

Poll Results - Which OS for students?

Well, this post is a little overdue, but the poll results are in and I would like to voice my opinion
here.

I invited forum members from the Mybroadband forum and the Peppermint OS forum to help me with the poll by voting. While some said they would not vote until Red Hat and server versions of Linux where listed, others took the time to vote. Not a lot of people voted, but it seems that most people believe that Windows is still the best option.

I understand that not everyone is ready to embrace Linux, but with students (using Office and web browsing) I do still feel that Linux is a viable option. If you really need Microsoft Office and you don't want to try to run it in Wine, then consider running their web app versions. Go to mail.live.com and sign up for a free account.

I have done a bit more digging about Chrome OS, as I believe that I did take a very harsh view about it. Consider the Amazon top 100 list of best selling laptops, in the top 20 listed items you will find that 6 of them are Chromebooks. Surely Google is doing something right with Chrome OS, or else nobody would be buying these things.

I do however find it sad that it is not as easy to buy a laptop with Linux installed. Dell is said to have a line of laptops for sale with Ubuntu on, but I would rather not run Ubuntu. Part of the problem is, I suppose, that there are so many different flavours of Linux that are available.

Anyways, a big thank you to everyone who voted. I hope to have another poll up soon.

Have you ever considered?

I don't know if you have heard the news, but Crunchbang Linux is basically dead now. With Linux comes great freedom, the freedom to create an OS the way you like it, the freedom to choose to use an OS that you like (instead of the one you are forced to use).

It is sad though when a distro ends. I understand that most projects (especially the smaller ones) do not make a profit. It takes a lot of love, commitment and time (and even money!) to create and maintain a version of Linux. Life changes and sometimes our priorities change and we don't have the time to do the things we used to.

My blog has a point and I am finally there:

If you are running Linux, no matter if it is a small distro or one with hundreds of thousands of users - you should learn a little bit more about Linux in general and broaden your horizons. What would you do if your favourite distro stopped tomorrow? If you only know how to use KDE or Gnome, and tomorrow both projects ended - what would you use? I am not encouraging anyone to be paranoid here please. The fear of change and trying new things is what keeps a lot of people locked into Windows, obviously if you have migrated to Linux from Windows you don't fall into that category. But what could it hurt to try something new? You might find that the really like the MATE desktop if you tried it. You might just encounter a new Linux distro that does things differently, (not that you have to switch) but you might learn a few tips & tricks from them.

Getting comfortable with something for too long and cause stagnation. When was the last time you used a different media player, for example? One of the beauties of Linux is that there are many thousands of apps out there. You don't need to try all of them, but having a broader set of general knowledge would not be a bad things either.

Don't go and change everything all at once now, but when and if you do have some free time - learn a new app along the way and explore a new desktop environment. You might just be surprised by what is out there.