Dru lavigne oss-desktop_apps

Open Source Desktop Applications

it360, May 2007Dru Lavigne

Audience

●Anyone interested in learning more about Open Source applications

● Those looking for strategies for encouraging the use of Open Source within their organization

●You!

Outline

●What this talk is not

●Open Source demythified

●Why bother?

●Application Equivalents

Outline

●Finding Quality Software

●Surviving the Transition

●Long term planning

●Additional Resources

A Quick Note on Format...

●The slides are guidelines only

●Let me know if it is time to pass out these:


●Share your experience: successes and flops

●Don't be afraid to:

If your experience was a...

Explain why. Was it:

● Lack of features?● Lack of support?● Undocumented?● Un-intuitive?● Something else?

If your experience was...

What made it so great?

● The price?● The features?● The ease of use?● Something else?


● Please keep in mind that we only have three hours

A Quick Note on Format....

● And to respect others' experiences.

● After all, it is only software....

What this talk is not

Since I'm not a business analyst...

...there won't be much on ROI or TCO

If you need to bring some back to your employer, show him these:


Since I'm not a fanatic...

...there won't be (too) much of a sales pitch for Open Source applications.


Since I'm not anti-commercial software...

...there won't be any commercial bashing:

After all, it's only software

And you should always choose the best tool for the job at hand

Open Source demythified

What exactly is Open Source????


A definition?


A license?

Many licenses?


Shareware?

Pirated software?


Open Source fictions include...


●Only suited for protocols and programming languages

●Geeks only need apply

●Developers only need apply

●Makes for a great server but a lousy desktop


●Everything is command line

●GUI applications are ugly

●Applications lack features

●There is no such thing as application support

Okay if those are all myths, that doesn't sound too bad...

...but really:

Why bother?

Why bother?

What are the benefits if I do?

Why bother?

What are the drawbacks if I don't?

Application Equivalents

●Do they exist?

●Is foo equal to bar or to FUBAR?

Finding Quality Software

There is no lack of choice....

...if anything, there is too much to choose from

Finding software can feel like sorting through the good, the bad, and the ugly...


There is hope...

Repositories of the highest quality equivalents do exist:


There is hope...

...there are guideposts to assist you:

Information Week: Feb. 5, 2007How to Tell the Open Source Winners from the Losers

Surviving the Transition

How painful is it...really?

That depends....


●How much are you changing at once?●

●What is your timeline?●

●Have you done your homework?●

●Do you have realistic expectations?


But my users (and/or management) are allergic to change!


●Start with baby steps

●Know what you are achieving and why

●There are software options for bridging the gap:


What resources and checklists are available to gauge Open Source readiness?

Long term Planning

Support options:

●Community is double-edged sword, especially for business needs

●Many Open Source projects have a commercial support arm

●Non-project specific commercial support options also exist:

Long term Planning

Training options:

●Courseware and trainers are available for most of the better known software

●Many certification programs also exist

Long term Planning

Licensing:

●Even if you don't plan on modifying software, understand licensing issues before you migrate

Additional Resources

Contact

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/unix/bsd

[email protected]

http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/unix/bsd

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