Re: What Linux flavor is best for office use?

From: Styvaen (abuse_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 01/25/04 

Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 14:57:31 +0000

Randy Allen wrote:

> I run a small business with about 10 desk top and 8 laptop computers. I
> am
> seriously considering converting to Linux on these computers. I have some
> questions about doing this.
> 1. What flavor is best suited for this application and why?

Mandrake will work straight out of the box. You don't want to spend too
much time administering these systems.

> 2. Which is easiest to install? The laptops have modems and I will need
> drivers for these.

Probably mandrake. It will let you create an installation disk at the end
of the install so subsequent installations will be click free.

The laptop modems will most certainly be winmodems. Good luck with that.
You are much better off purchasing laptops that will run linux rather than
trying to match a disto to the laptop. I expect a lot of post install
configuration including kernel reconfiguration. Mandrake has a gui tool
for this. In the kernel there are options like toshiba laptop support etc.
which are mainly to do with power management.

> 3. Which will be most "Windows-like", hence easier to teach my employees?

Mandrake has lots of gui configuration tools. In this way it is like
windows but with a difference. With linux the security is built in from
the ground up to prevent user "administration" which usually consists of
installing games and viruses.

Windows is not that easy to teach your employees. Try training someone from
scratch ie. totally computer illiterate on preconfigured systems and
besides logging on not much else differetiates the two.

Your employees arrived at your company with MS Windows skills, didn't they?
This creates the illusion that Linux is hard. It's not. I spent a year
mastering Windows 98 at a system administration level, then came to XP and
within a couple of months was completely at home there. All your employees
will be required to do is fire up that word processsor.

Perhaps you are more concerned with the desktop being windows like so that
the shock factor is minimised. For that reason alone I would recommend
using KDE. It's highly polished interface should reassure your employees
that they are using quality software.

As for word processors you will want openoffice.org (that's what it is
called). This is where most of your training will come in. Alternatively
you could still run word via crossover office. This should be kept as an
option on at least one machine with a single windows box kept back for when
there is no other option.

> 4. I currently use Redhat 8 on my personal laptop and have never found a
> driver for the Brother fax/printer I use. Is there a way to overcome this
> or do I need to replace the printer so we'll be able to print?

If it is a winprinter you may as well forget it. For printers go with an
Epson or HP model that has been out for at least a year. And check for
driver support before you buy.

> 5. Any advice will be appreciated, including suggestions on references to
> help with the conversion.

Suggestion #1 Get one machine working first.

Suggestion #2 Creating a productive work environment:

Sort out a standard desktop that will run the applications you want with
quick launch buttons at the bottom of the screen. Filter the unwanteds out
of your menu at the side of the screen or uninstall the unwanted software.
This uncluttered lean environment will prevent users playing with the
system so resulting in greater productivity.

For example do your employees need the KDE toys, games, edutainment in the
start menu. You can run any system administration program by creating an
admin user account on each machine that has the KDE menu in it's entirity.

Set up the email on the one machine and you can carry over the settings to
all others by copying the .kde directory.

To prevent users customising the system you can make the settings revert
every time someone logs on. There is already the ability to limit the
customisability of KDE. At present only via configuration files but in the
new KDE release candidate, I hear that there is a GUI tool for this
purpose.

Finally remove the console launcher as this will only scare your workers.
Do you envision them using it?

Styvaen.

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