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How important are the following potential issues to your organization's decision to migrate to Linux on the Desktop?
#Response DateOther major obstacle (please specify)
1.10/17/2007 2:29:00 AMInertia -- there's no urgent need to migrate people who are comfortable with their XP desktops.
2.10/17/2007 2:33:00 AMReluctance of management to change. They still think it is OK to run Lose '98 on our network! We are running GNU/Linux in situations where it was impossible to keep that other OS running.
3.10/17/2007 2:49:00 AMSuitable drivers have been some problem in the past
4.10/17/2007 3:58:00 AMprinter and scanner drivers
5.10/17/2007 4:12:00 AMSome users are not aware of the stability and overall superiority that Linux provides..
6.10/17/2007 4:50:00 AMThe biggest one is definitely Application Distribution (packaging and installers)
7.10/17/2007 6:45:00 AMKey applications missing - in our case PCD Layout Package - is only obstacle to dropping Windows entirely.
8.10/17/2007 7:05:00 AMPassword stored in plain text (or with simple encoding) for applications like Gaim and Evolution.
9.10/17/2007 8:35:00 AMOverall graphical appearance of linux desktop. Smoothness of fonts etc.
10.10/17/2007 8:40:00 AMwireless drivers remain an obstacle, not to linux adoption (that is already decided) but to adoption of particular wireless hardware. there are products i'd buy and use if their driver support was better, and more obvious.
11.10/17/2007 9:25:00 AMconservativeness of users
12.10/17/2007 9:53:00 AMIt's implied in some of the above, but end user support has to be the big fear because of the variety of hardware that students and faculty would bring.
13.10/17/2007 10:11:00 AMFull calendar support for exchange2007
14.10/17/2007 10:35:00 AMlow flexibility of IT department, fixation on Microsoft products
15.10/17/2007 10:48:00 AMdrivers!!!
16.10/17/2007 10:56:00 AMPDF management, text search, and the need to create desktop applications which EXPECT terabytes of data.
17.10/17/2007 11:43:00 AMFinding Linux compatible hardware
18.10/17/2007 12:41:00 PMmanagement investment in microsoft stocks.
19.10/17/2007 1:03:00 PMThere are two applications I use every day for collaborative work with remote partners: Microsoft SharedView and Microsoft Windows Live Messenger. I use SharedView to enable me to solve the problems of non-technical staff by taking over their desktops and showing them how to solve a problem or perform a task. I use Windows Live Messenger to enable me to have sets of &quot;sharing folders&quot; that get synchronized between my machine and another worker's machine. Since I am doing content development work, this is extremely helpful. Since my coworkers are running Windows and Office 2007, cross-platform compatibility is essential to enable me to run Linux applications for this work. Furthermore, having &quot;perfect&quot; compatibility with Office 2007 files is needed. Currently, even with Office 2003 files, there are lots of things that break (WordArt editing, etc).
20.10/17/2007 1:08:00 PMInstant Messaging between departments. We wished to adopt Jabber, because it is an open standard for IM, and we assumed Linux had good Jabber interoperability. Boy, were we wrong. We had to go back to Skype. We like to work with open standards, but Linux needs much better Jabber support than Psi.
21.10/17/2007 1:12:00 PMSo-called IT staff are all former MS partners and still refuse to install any software that is not MS on ground that it is &quot;not Microsoft&quot;
22.10/17/2007 1:49:00 PMOld habits
23.10/17/2007 1:55:00 PMDealing with proprietary documents.
24.10/17/2007 2:26:00 PMNeed to break the dependency on Microsoft Office and move more people to OpenOffice.
25.10/17/2007 3:13:00 PMApplication vendors only support commercial Linux distributions. Linux is cost prohibitive as a result.
26.10/17/2007 3:18:00 PMI do not belive that something like &quot;Intellectual property&quot; exists, it's a fable :)
27.10/17/2007 3:37:00 PMpdf tool rendering speed is slow lacks of stock market tool
28.10/17/2007 3:43:00 PMWe have a number of utilities that are Windows only (as mentioned, an example is the Windows-only manager tool for our VOIP phone system) from smaller companies with little incentive to support Linux. Also, our IT department is completely wedded to Windows and looks only for Windows solutions, even though our entire development environment is Linux-based. To support this we purchase two desktops for every user: a Linux desktop for development and a Windows desktop for IT functions such as email, calendaring, etc. That means KVM switches, multiple screens, etc... and all because they want to use Windows-only solutions for everything. And we are not a big company that can afford that kind of waste!
29.10/17/2007 3:50:00 PMMicrosoft Applications &amp; Laptop support.
30.10/17/2007 3:50:00 PMFit and Finish of system management as well as unified Desktop environment. The whole gnome\kde\flux\etc.. needs to be unified to a single standard.
31.10/17/2007 3:52:00 PMOffice Suite which is actually useable (OpenOffice need not apply, it is schizophrenic and braindead in its interface). KDE is getting there, and may save us yet.
32.10/17/2007 3:57:00 PMI just wanted to add that it's actually quite daunting, buying a linux PC these days, even from people like Dell, and being sure it'll all work. Even just buying simple things like a &quot;supported&quot; hybrid TV tuner can turn into a nightmare, when you find out it WAS supported and working back in 2.6.18, but now is &quot;supported&quot; but isn't working, in just 2.6.22. Although I like the idea of faster development, the whole idea of not having stable kernels anymore doesn't seem so hot. Maybe if the distros had a list of supported hardware on the level of kernels and add-on cards, and gave some future guarantees...
33.10/17/2007 4:01:00 PMOutlook calendar &amp; email integration
34.10/17/2007 4:05:00 PMExchange server compatability
35.10/17/2007 4:09:00 PMPerception. Market penetration. Non-existent advertising.
36.10/17/2007 4:11:00 PMPolitical - Windows Admins are afraid of losing their job.
37.10/17/2007 4:13:00 PMPolitical considerations (e.g. decision far above to buy Microsoft license, we have to use)
38.10/17/2007 4:25:00 PMgeneral public knowledge of Linux - those that have heard of it have varied misconceptions.
39.10/17/2007 4:26:00 PMnewer hardware not yet supported in current git (aka latest intel boards)
40.10/17/2007 4:29:00 PMInteroperability with other Windows clients and applications
41.10/17/2007 4:44:00 PMMicrosofts lack of cooperation...
42.10/17/2007 4:49:00 PMAvailability of programs
43.10/17/2007 4:52:00 PMApplications and Windows/Mac-only formats.
44.10/17/2007 4:55:00 PMNeed programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Cinema 4D. Adobe Photoshop could be either virtualized or run in Wine but Cinema4D needs hardware acceleration.
45.10/17/2007 4:56:00 PMAbility to change resolution when laptop is in a docking station
46.10/17/2007 4:57:00 PMExchanging proprietary file formats (word, visio, autocad)
47.10/17/2007 5:01:00 PMIMHO this question is worded incorrectly; although some things might be important to us I wouldn't say that they're an &quot;obstacle&quot;. Many of the items in this list -are- important to us but at the same time -aren't- an obstacle at all; Linux already facilitates those items to a suitable level.
48.10/17/2007 5:05:00 PMMajor obstacle: Industry-specific applications to be ported to Linux.
49.10/17/2007 5:13:00 PMThe Adobe apps plus BBedit would make it much easier for me to migrate. but, at the end of the day, I'm still very much a Mac user, but increasingly comforatble getting stuff done in Linux
50.10/17/2007 5:20:00 PMEnterprise software support
51.10/17/2007 5:29:00 PMKnowledge of Desktop Linux and other GPL'ed applications -- too many of our users have not heard of Linux or OpenOffice.org, and they WORK at our IT shop! Where is the ADVERTISING?
52.10/17/2007 5:31:00 PMPower management (suspend/hibernate) in laptops Wireless in laptops
53.10/17/2007 5:33:00 PMUniface coded application is the mainstay of our organization. Getting it to run under Linux is paramount to deployment of Linux desktops.
54.10/17/2007 5:34:00 PMLack of (up-to-date) documentation for many applications. Would like to have more attention given to financial + cost + tax software development. Also, a database front end for in-house apps like inventory. Something with the same sort of capabilities as Borland's Paradox.
55.10/17/2007 5:42:00 PMAbility to use hardware dongles for proprietary engineering software
56.10/17/2007 5:48:00 PMVendor lock-in; Microsoft Windows &amp; Office long established in office culture
57.10/17/2007 5:51:00 PMThe gui sucks. To fat, very much space. Very poor utilization of the screen.
58.10/17/2007 5:55:00 PMI getting the idea this survey is inappropriate for my experience: I work from Linux already and I develop for the web. If you want to solve a desktop problem, energy saving. Now I turn my monitors off by hand. Suspect there is still too much activity in the background. For example, I find screen savers running on turned off monitors on turning them back on.
59.10/17/2007 5:57:00 PMGood GUI design, or the lack of it.
60.10/17/2007 6:01:00 PMSoftware compatibility. My softwares aren't available for a Linux environment, and cant be run through a virtual, or emulated machine/layer.
61.10/17/2007 6:05:00 PMAvailability of a reliable Flash player. Other streaming video players.
62.10/17/2007 6:05:00 PMInability to &quot;connect the dots&quot; between Red Hat Enterprise Linux support, and the enterprise Dell hardware: Optiplex and Latitude lines to make a reliable easy to deploy system.
63.10/17/2007 6:09:00 PMA will to change from Windows
64.10/17/2007 6:24:00 PMMost desktop users are happy with the operating system they are currently using, forcing them to use something else would upset them. Our frontend web developers need access to Windows/OS X boxes for browser testing.
65.10/17/2007 6:25:00 PMUsing linux as a terminal server in an easy fashion. Having settings for all applications being setup centrally. Biggest problem are crossplatfoorm applications that doesnt adhere to *nix standard of all settings in /etc. Gnome and its gconf is not for the faint of heart either for terminal server deployment.
66.10/17/2007 6:26:00 PMDirectX
67.10/17/2007 6:26:00 PMMissing a native Intuit QuickBooks and Quicken are big obstacles.
68.10/17/2007 6:44:00 PMMore applications for voice recognition and transcription!
69.10/17/2007 6:44:00 PMDecision.
70.10/17/2007 6:47:00 PMDrivers that don't are as good as their Windows eqvivlent, and lack of programs, for example PCTV TO GO player which is needed for streaming video with pinnacle (When streaming through RSTP the quality sucks).
71.10/17/2007 6:50:00 PMApplication distribution problem is lack of support for native packages from big proprietary vendors.
72.10/17/2007 6:57:00 PMquality of programs
73.10/17/2007 7:02:00 PMDRIVERS AND OPEN DOCS WITHOUT NDA
74.10/17/2007 7:10:00 PMinteroperability of OpenOffice with MS Office documents - VBA macros not functioning
75.10/17/2007 7:11:00 PMagain: photoshop natively running on a linux desktop
76.10/17/2007 7:16:00 PMNo support for the LOB applications we use
77.10/17/2007 7:17:00 PMConservative leaders/colleagues (they are refusing to learn something new, even if that's better/cheaper..)
78.10/17/2007 7:18:00 PMKey differentiation between MS &amp; Linux MS on new Intel/AMD platform - at a minimum it works Linux on new Intel/AMD platform – starts driver development/search &amp; tinkering! Why can not we have a single base Linux that works out of the box on any machine????
79.10/17/2007 7:28:00 PMEasy to use. Dists takes after Windows with its not so good interface and layout. Make a &quot;free software&quot; version of Mac OS X GUI with its keyboard shortcuts, layout, Keychain and more.
80.10/17/2007 7:31:00 PMconnection with MS Exchange server
81.10/17/2007 7:32:00 PMReliability
82.10/17/2007 7:39:00 PMThis is not relevant, since I've already deployed it. HOwever, syncing to mobile devices could be better.
83.10/17/2007 7:45:00 PMThat the GUIs of applications are so bad, it's way behind Windows/OS X
84.10/17/2007 7:45:00 PMdevelopers support
85.10/17/2007 7:45:00 PMWindows has a much smaller annual fee compared to Mandriva Corporate Desktop or Red Hat WS. With free Linux versions the supported life is 12-18 months, which is too short for typical business use.
86.10/17/2007 7:47:00 PMthe average user refuses to consider moving away from the microsoft office suite to something like openoffice.
87.10/17/2007 7:48:00 PMCustom tools from partners which are windows only.
88.10/17/2007 7:50:00 PMCompatibility with our specific software. Lack of interest from those in charge. Size of the organisation (national network).
89.10/17/2007 7:50:00 PMEnterprise Applications that only run through Internet Explorer
90.10/17/2007 7:53:00 PMDocumentation in general (screen captured videos seem to help, though)
91.10/17/2007 7:54:00 PMusing ndisWrapper to get the WLAN to work
92.10/17/2007 8:12:00 PMGames, Games i buy from retail stores will only work in windows! Why?? I Would run linux today if the games worked!
93.10/17/2007 8:12:00 PMwindows desktop functionality not implemented in GNOME. Nautilus missing features that MS Windows Explorer has. Archive manager not as good as WinZip.
94.10/17/2007 8:12:00 PMLinux apps (especially free software) must have the same or better quality as Windows/proprietary applications. Constantly crashing or featureless apps are major blockers.
95.10/17/2007 8:15:00 PMLinux should fight against agreements between Microsoft and local goverments: Universities and students have Campus-Licence of nearly all MS-Products by this agreements. This makes it difficulte to discuss between free and licenced based software. IT's at this institutions will never deploy to Linux since Windows and MS-Apps are &quot;free&quot; for them.
96.10/17/2007 8:39:00 PMIt's pretty much just Flash, Photoshop, and QuickBooks that block consideration for desktop use here.
97.10/17/2007 8:39:00 PMHP Laptop support!
98.10/17/2007 8:50:00 PMDesktop redrawing speed on our oldish P3@800/i810/Savage boxes compared to WinXP on same box. I know, xorg drivers are incomplete, GTK2+/Pango/Xft/Freetype are not very optimized, fonts are unhinted/bad hinted. But it is time to optimize, my boss is not happy with waiting for screen redraw, he never experirnse it on his shiny WinXP.
99.10/17/2007 9:08:00 PM&quot;Intellectual property and/or licensing concerns&quot; are a main reason *for* migrating, *not against it*. The cost to migrate today would be the cost to develop or port DejaVu X, Visma Administration 500, Visma's tax program and a few other things to Linux. If that already exists, migration is a matter of approx. one or two days spent on deployment and tuning.
100.10/17/2007 9:11:00 PMTo be abel to make documents that are supported by windows
101.10/17/2007 9:39:00 PMAvailability of needed software
102.10/17/2007 9:50:00 PMLack of video capturing / editing tools.
103.10/17/2007 9:59:00 PMTime Consuming, as I mentioned before, it takes usually an awful long time to do many simple things in Linux due the RTFM syndrome the entire system is having, specially in the relation of configuring applications, it may take hours to do a few simple things to discover and find out, where gui based configuration program may have saved you hours of work, In the long run when you have a ton of minor things like this to deal with you lose just to much value time and Linux itself become a mayor obstacle and cost.
104.10/17/2007 10:27:00 PMLinux is not user friendly
105.10/17/2007 10:33:00 PMPoor support from Game manufacturers.
106.10/17/2007 10:35:00 PMeverything should be easier than Mac and Windows....and it isn't
107.10/17/2007 11:19:00 PMWe use three mission critical softwares that run only on Windows. If they were ported we'd go 100% Linux
108.10/17/2007 11:36:00 PMAvailability of Japanese versions of programs Ability to handle DBCS text
109.10/17/2007 11:38:00 PMDrivers!!
110.10/18/2007 12:55:00 AMMain one is binary-only proprietary graphics, wireless and modem drivers and firmware.
111.10/18/2007 1:41:00 AMIgnorance among several players on the IT field concerning free document formats and Linux. (They think there's only the Windows way of doing things.)
112.10/18/2007 2:30:00 AMTough to get proprietary app vendors to port to Linux due to fragmented/immature/poorly-documented developer environment. How do you do Cut/Paste, object linking/embedding, printing? Is it different in KDE vs. Gnome? Will my favorite developer tools become deprecated?
113.10/18/2007 2:34:00 AMOur main systems runs on Filemaker 6 (Windows and Mac only) This is the mayor obstacle.
114.10/18/2007 2:38:00 AMCurrently, the local Multiple Listing Service web site requires IE. They say that they will have a new site ready sometime in 2008 that will run on other browsers, particularly Firefox. At that time, I'll be able to try switching to Linux for everything.
115.10/18/2007 2:59:00 AMSales and tech support staff just don't want it - it's an image problem. Little stuff - X11 doesn't change resolutions when you plug in an overhead, drivers missing for many printers, setting up encrypted wireless works but is a hassle. Etc....
116.10/18/2007 3:08:00 AM(1) Availability of C++ sample code for high-performance thread-safe UNO components that embed stock ticker pub/sub caches into the OOCalc process, which we can use to write internal applications. (2) Availability of multiple XY1Y2Y3... line graphs with bidirectional selection for OOCalc. (3) Tendency of Red Hat to not upgrade its Open Office version fast enough on the desktop.
117.10/18/2007 3:18:00 AMFormatting problems between OOo and MS Office. Some users are unwilling to accept that OOo is a sufficient replacement, citing interoperability concerns.
118.10/18/2007 3:26:00 AMALSA may be technically superior, but it will continue to be a support nightmare until all the major apps and WMs play with it nicely. Linux needs games. Which means Linux needs a standard 3D sound and graphics library analogous to DirectX.
119.10/18/2007 3:27:00 AMLegacy Applications
120.10/18/2007 3:37:00 AMInternal application/business specific software development time
121.10/18/2007 4:27:00 AMPeople sending Word documents.
122.10/18/2007 5:04:00 AMI think that the major obstacle is still absence of specific applications. We need to run a lot of apps on clients as AutoCAD, ProEngineer, ABRA ERP, PalstatCAQ and other.
123.10/18/2007 5:38:00 AMThe most most major obstacle is the application software packaging and distribution where we are there are .rpm .deb etc, etc but each make life harder for us.
124.10/18/2007 5:43:00 AMPrograms we need dont run on linux.
125.10/18/2007 6:14:00 AMNo business desktop from a major vendor with linux pre-installed, w. warranty, etc. Procuring linux desktop hardware where everything works for a reasonable price is a problem. I'm confident that I can find that hardware and install a linux myself, but that does not make a business sense for a company.
126.10/18/2007 6:25:00 AMAvailability of applications compatible with Linux
127.10/18/2007 6:26:00 AMApplication distribution (packaging and installers) - MS have Active Directory for user managing and for software centralized installation, but what about linux through same and all distros? We need do something like http://www.java.com/en/download/help/5000011100.xml
128.10/18/2007 7:06:00 AMMicrosoft
129.10/18/2007 7:06:00 AMThe lack of some major applications.
130.10/18/2007 7:14:00 AMQuality of ATI's proprietary fglrx driver for X1000 series graphics cards (is improving).
131.10/18/2007 7:19:00 AMPoor knowledge of IT managers who are not willing to leave their comfort(actually a discomfort) zone of windows.
132.10/18/2007 7:20:00 AMWindows-loving inertia, unwillingness to switch to a platform-agnostic ERP.
133.10/18/2007 7:37:00 AMCritical software are missing
134.10/18/2007 7:45:00 AMDriver, driver, driver
135.10/18/2007 7:45:00 AMEase of installing sound cards, video cards, etc.
136.10/18/2007 8:28:00 AMMostly a very slow acceptance of newer technologies.
137.10/18/2007 8:37:00 AMchaning management's mind set
138.10/18/2007 8:50:00 AMIT staff are staunch Microsoft supporters. IT Management are convinced that a single vendor solution is the easiest and best. IT and senior Management are technically clueless and rely on advice from our MCSE trained staff and salespeople who only promote MS based solutions.
139.10/18/2007 9:28:00 AMDesktop Applications not available on Linux, mostly Adobe Applications Acrobat Pro, Photoshop etc.
140.10/18/2007 9:55:00 AMDesktop performance
141.10/18/2007 10:22:00 AMarguments like &quot;I used that for 20 years! Why should I change?&quot;
142.10/18/2007 11:06:00 AMmissing core aplications
143.10/18/2007 11:44:00 AMfear of change
144.10/18/2007 11:50:00 AMlaptop support very weak
145.10/18/2007 12:02:00 PMLack of decent RAD tools
146.10/18/2007 12:07:00 PMlack of good 2-d and 3-D cad programs
147.10/18/2007 12:14:00 PMWTF? This question makes no sense... Just because something is important does not mean it's an &quot;obstacle&quot; on Linux... Many of the above are &quot;important&quot;, but not ONE of them is an &quot;obstacle&quot; on Linux!
148.10/18/2007 12:15:00 PMApplications in distros should work out of the box - many do not.
149.10/18/2007 12:22:00 PMno support for MS Exchange; poor clipboard (several competing implementations, no support for not-textual data)
150.10/18/2007 12:24:00 PMprinstaled aplications
151.10/18/2007 12:56:00 PMGraphics drivers, NIC/LAN drivers
152.10/18/2007 12:58:00 PM- requiring business applications which so far are available on Windows platforms only and which can't so far be replaced by functionally equivalent FOSS / Linux based applications - legacy inhouse applications, built atop a cross-platform document management system and yet (client-side) closely tied to Windows technologies (OLE, DDE, VBA)
153.10/18/2007 12:58:00 PMSoftware development tools for graphic work and office document compatibility
154.10/18/2007 12:58:00 PMQuality of sound recording is major obstacle.
155.10/18/2007 1:02:00 PMThe &quot;Cost to migrate&quot; issue isn't software or hardware costs, but training costs and timing as well as the shift in perception away from the comfort level of Microsoft. Unfortunately, it is many years off still before an organization like mine could shift away from the comfort of MS.
156.10/18/2007 1:05:00 PMUSB Wireless Network
157.10/18/2007 1:06:00 PMLack of Games:(
158.10/18/2007 1:11:00 PM-Number of available applications - Central administration like ActiveDirectory
159.10/18/2007 1:17:00 PMgames *wining*
160.10/18/2007 1:18:00 PMThe cost to migrate existing code (our own) to linux. Maybe in few years when Mono (and MonoDevelop, or Wine and Visual Studio) is complete enough that our cms runs on top of it, some of us might consider migrating to Linux. We also need Photoshop, or Gimp needs few years of work.
161.10/18/2007 1:26:00 PMDriver, drivers, and interoperability
162.10/18/2007 1:31:00 PMActually I have no idea at all about this. You'd have to ask the systems engineer at the dept. of computer science at my university.
163.10/18/2007 1:37:00 PMMicrosoft's lack of support for standards.
164.10/18/2007 1:38:00 PMInertia, unwillingness to learn in one member of our organisation.
165.10/18/2007 1:52:00 PMTechical staff is partially not trained enough and partially overloaded with Windows client support, so it's a resource issue more than anything else.
166.10/18/2007 1:55:00 PMApart from unfamiliarity, the 3 most important obstacles to Linux desktop adoption in this organization are: (1) Compatibility with Microsoft Exchange servers (especially for calendaring and appointment booking) (2) &quot;Managed desktop&quot; support (e.g. endpoint lockdown by MIS) (3) Support for laptop related issues (power management, docking stations etc.0
167.10/18/2007 2:01:00 PMPersons in the position to make the decision whether or not to migrate to Linux are not easily persuaded from Windows, which they have &quot;always used&quot;.
168.10/18/2007 2:05:00 PMLack of key device driver support and lack of key applications keep us from 100% Linux adoption. Some stuff requires Windows to run (eg. scanner/printers lack driver support; and particular software, such as Adobe Acrobat Professional or tax preparation software, just don't run, period). There's no Linux equivalent.
169.10/18/2007 2:05:00 PMMicrosoft with it's half baked document standards and a stranglehold of peripheral manufacturers
170.10/18/2007 2:21:00 PMMission-critical software support
171.10/18/2007 2:25:00 PMThere is not such quality and number of education-programs for GNU/Linux.
172.10/18/2007 2:28:00 PMProgram aviability Important to know that for all hardware is a stable driver aviable and a good program that uses the driver.
173.10/18/2007 2:32:00 PMOptions in the question below are worded poorly, a simple Yes/No would have sufficed). Our answer: Yes, we would be likely to deploy, but we have not been waiting for these developments.
174.10/18/2007 2:39:00 PMOldfashioned bosses!
175.10/18/2007 2:48:00 PMInteraction with suppliers/customers
176.10/18/2007 3:08:00 PMObstacle #1 is the unavailability of proprietary applications!!! I don't want gimp and it will never ever be as good as Photoshop. FOSS works for software with a huge user base like and OS, an Office Suite, a Browser, instant messaging. FOSS does NOT work for specialized apps which need substantial funding for development like Photoshop, Premiere, Quark Express. Maybe Gimp or some other apps can compete with the proprietary stuff some time, but until they do I want the freedom of choice! I don't mind proprietary software per se. However what I do care about are open file formats!!! And still if PSD is not free, I still need it for my business.
177.10/18/2007 3:16:00 PMLots of internal software is running on MS Access :-( or is not available for Linux
178.10/18/2007 3:42:00 PMdiskless clients, a Database Server that can replace MS SQL without the need to change the client software
179.10/18/2007 4:07:00 PM&quot;where's the start button?&quot; &quot;OpenOffice?&quot; lack of trust
180.10/18/2007 4:09:00 PMPoor performance of some Open Office applications (Presentation and Calc graphing)
181.10/18/2007 4:11:00 PMVersions of 3rd party applications we already use.
182.10/18/2007 4:13:00 PMEasy to use, centralized open source LDAP management and directory tool
183.10/18/2007 4:17:00 PMSoftware for company internet banking; accounting, facturing only exists for M$ Windows
184.10/18/2007 4:18:00 PMWine is a joke. It supports very few applications, and not the ones I need. I think a focus on implementing and testing complete Windows APIs, rather than trying to get apps working one at a time, would work much better. Also, don't forget, geeks like video games too.
185.10/18/2007 4:24:00 PMhigher management's understanding
186.10/18/2007 4:25:00 PMThe Linux desktop environment is clunky; everything is more convoluted and difficult than it has to be. You can keep the command-line culture for the people that want to dig deep into the guts of stuff; however, for the Linux desktop to succeed it MUST offer the same quality of applications, range of applications, and ease of use that Microsoft and Apple offer. Without that you are just wasting everyone's time. You have known about these problems for years. Stop all this fractured BS, organize around a common desktop environment and provide the everyday user with a simple, reliable, polished user interface and you won't have to ask these same old questions year after year.
187.10/18/2007 4:27:00 PMMigrating to Linux is blocked for many users because of the way linux applications are packaged. The power of the application is what the user wants, ultimately. Everything else in the enterprise just supports the ability of the user to use the tools within their applications. Give users the applications they want, and they will come.
188.10/18/2007 4:34:00 PMdocument exchange with Windows world
189.10/18/2007 4:36:00 PMthe absence of an Linux standard, for example their should be ONE app-package for Linux (and not 10-100 for every distris an d so on). -&gt; I'm unhappy with LSB progress!
190.10/18/2007 4:36:00 PMPrejudice.
191.10/18/2007 4:41:00 PMTHE major obstacle is not having quality industry standard apps like autodesk, dassault, adobe with their extensive plugin eco-system.
192.10/18/2007 4:43:00 PM(reiterate) COMMERCIAL HARDWARE/DRIVER SUPPORT! (/reiterate)
193.10/18/2007 4:46:00 PMFear of it being unsecure and too technical for end users.
194.10/18/2007 4:47:00 PMY'know most problems come from either ignorance about Linux/FOSS related things or from lack of device drivers/specs, and special applications with no free analoga and not ported to Linux-kernel-based OS or other unixes. (my sight as an advanced end user on other possible users or on myself) Also depends on what you plan to do, but drivers, applications and implementations of powersavings should be large problems for folks like me; other users just lack experience and some want to have a &quot;company behind things&quot;. Most of so called IP is a lot of crap and FUD i.m.o.. Oh yes, and Linux or other free OS preinstalled or just a box without the Windows preinstalled would be great. I build my personal boxes from parts so it's not a problem, but in University it's buying boxes ready as they are complete with OS etc. and Laptops are always an issue (but thanks small companies and lately Dell).
195.10/18/2007 4:48:00 PMNot all Windows applications are ported. PCs are bought with Windows licenses so there is no incentive for management to adopt Linux from a financial standpoint. We have a huge investment in Netware and Lotus Notes that don't translate easily into Linux.
196.10/18/2007 4:48:00 PMPreinstalled Linux offerings usually don't include our distribution of choice
197.10/18/2007 4:48:00 PMThe Windows &quot;momentum&quot; catch 22.
198.10/18/2007 4:57:00 PMCan't legally play the DVD's for the films we make.
199.10/18/2007 5:12:00 PMProprietary enterprise system with MS Office hooks.
200.10/18/2007 5:13:00 PM?
201.10/18/2007 5:16:00 PMActive DIrectory integration out-of-the box. Along with Enterprise desktop management tools
202.10/18/2007 5:17:00 PMMy organization doesn't want to migrate to Linux.
203.10/18/2007 5:21:00 PMInteraction with outside institutions/entity. i.e. 1. Government uses MS Windows primarily to which we are required to submit report on files of MS Office type. 2. Government requires usage of their monitoring software which runs on MS Windows 3. Third party security/surveillance systems provider employs/uses software which requires MS Windows
204.10/18/2007 5:22:00 PMmixing environments (for some time) seems unavoidable =&gt; more costs
205.10/18/2007 5:28:00 PMWe have no plans, interest or requirements to use linux on the desktop. We use linux in our back end systems but do not use, or plan to use, linux on the desktop anytime in the foreseeable future.
206.10/18/2007 5:29:00 PMlaptop suspend/hibernate support for common manufacturers
207.10/18/2007 5:36:00 PMSome users are very beginners, some more advanced. The beginners have troubles with all OSs. Remote training is the most difficult task.
208.10/18/2007 5:50:00 PMSpecific app porting
209.10/18/2007 5:52:00 PMIT lock-in to Windows.
210.10/18/2007 6:10:00 PMNone, already switched 100% to linux (and would not want to go back to windows)
211.10/18/2007 6:16:00 PMWhen you have a reasonably solid Wintel client environment already deployed, there is no incentive to switch. Even if the Linux deployment goes perfectly, a lot of work and time is required just to get back to the point where you were with Windows. Windows isn't *that* bad and Linux isn't *that much better* to make the change. Beside... a lot of people like Windows or don't care.
212.10/18/2007 6:20:00 PMIE specific applications.
213.10/18/2007 6:22:00 PMAt work, exclusive of my server, we use only MS. I have lobbied for years to consider 'nix for our network, to no avail. There has never been any consideration given, as far as I have been to tell, to using anything else. The answer to the question of what we will use is punctuated with an ample supply of 'of course we'll use MS... Very few laboratory instruments that I am aware of interface with 'nix of any stripe. I have SCO on my server, and it works well. I have never been able to tell what, other than the fact that it might be different, somehow, is exactly the problem with using open source software.
214.10/18/2007 6:28:00 PMother employees doesn't / want not to know / understand benefits of linux and opensource
215.10/18/2007 6:35:00 PMHardware geared toward toy operating systems like MS Windows are destroying the real world hardware base.
216.10/18/2007 6:38:00 PMPolish and documentation of IDEs. Other than NetBeans, nothing is as clean and polished as the IDEs for MS and Mac. Straight Java in Eclipse is good but C++, Swing and SWT is poorly documented.
217.10/18/2007 6:39:00 PMWe need more than an Outlook clone (like evolution mail), we need an email client/PIM that works better than Outlook (more stable and greater functionality)
218.10/18/2007 6:58:00 PMPIM to Exchange Server User Managment (LDAP, ADS)
219.10/18/2007 7:17:00 PMstupid users
220.10/18/2007 7:17:00 PMLinux equivalents are inferior (or completely missing) to some windows applications. Most notable are reference managers (Endnote) which in windows case is far superior to any linux equivalent so far. We're a research department, so this is critical... And this is only a single major issue.
221.10/18/2007 7:20:00 PMNo obstacles; I've continued to increase Linux use since 1994. Often I prefer a command line UI over GUI. I prefer functional apps over &quot;cute&quot; presentation. Generally, I prefer the unix way of doing things. I prefer a lightweight desktop. I presently use FVWM rather than gome or kde. Sometimes I use gnome or kde apps with FVWM. I prefer apps that take advantage of Linux/Unix strengths (e.g. X11, fast cut/copy/paste, command line interface, GUI interface with certain applications). Generally, I prefer a well designed command line interface even though an effective GUI is provided. I think it's fine to have Linux distros that mimic windows. However, I greatly prefer apps that take advantage of Unix strengths and do things in a better way than windows.
222.10/18/2007 7:32:00 PMapplication availability
223.10/18/2007 7:35:00 PMThere are a lot of promising project which might lead to a usefull solution but it's difficult to find it. If they are not representet on the sourceforge.net, there is a slight chance to find info about them.
224.10/18/2007 8:06:00 PMTHE MAJOR OBSTACLE - Network setup training, or built in auto configuration capabilities.
225.10/18/2007 8:12:00 PMCustomer's inclination to deploy MS products:-)))) and demanding training for MS Office
226.10/18/2007 8:42:00 PMneeds to play windows based games!
227.10/18/2007 9:12:00 PMIn Education environment Multimedia Authoring / Video Editing / Programming and other apps
228.10/18/2007 9:21:00 PMCentral management of all desktops
229.10/18/2007 9:44:00 PMConvincing CIO's that there is more to computing then Microsoft and encouraging them to talk to their staff before and after speaking with sales reps.
230.10/18/2007 10:06:00 PMProbably covered above, .. but when a device (e.g. usb stick) stops working under linux, .. it is just too hard to work out how to get it working again
231.10/18/2007 10:07:00 PMSome vendors just don't get Linux's important on the desktop, and make their Linux version second-class citizens. Also, over-dependence on Java.
232.10/18/2007 11:01:00 PMDeployed web applications that do not support non Windows plaforms - i.e. Oracle financials, which uses JInitiator, but does not support Linux.
233.10/18/2007 11:10:00 PMSoftware available (usable native Lotus Notes-Client, Endnote, 100% MS Word compatible word processor including cite while you write-compatible Endnote integration)
234.10/18/2007 11:41:00 PMThere are no obstacles: we are almost totally a Linux shop! (God, this survey is badly designed! Don't pay them! Too many &quot;when did you stop beating your wife?&quot; questions! Disgraceful, Linux Foundation!)
235.10/18/2007 11:51:00 PMMS file format compatibility
236.10/19/2007 12:09:00 AMEnd user's resistance to change or the unfamiliar.
237.10/19/2007 12:21:00 AMSupport for gaming is the key to getting people to totally switch to Linux. Gaming needs are the only reason I have a dual boot system with Windows XP. Device support and gaming are the top priorities for the advancement of the Linux desktop. Not much else is holding it back.
238.10/19/2007 1:35:00 AMAnswers reflect my previous workplace. When working there as a PC/network-tech, I tried to get the chief to think of migrating to Linux (I'd just fallen in love with some version of Ubuntu, 2005-something). We had a lot of interesting talks about it, with him getting very interested in the whole idea, but when I was asked to calculate what was needed for the migration, plus keeping the educational programs (I worked in a municipal school with about 2000 users, by the way) it all came to a halt, since there were no alternatives. And running the programs via WINE wasn't an option on the crummy computers we were forced to use there with our crime of a budget. And no, don't read to much into that the budget was the largest obstacle, the program availability was. (:
239.10/19/2007 2:48:00 AMThere is no good web browser for 64-bit Linux that also works with Adobe flash. In fact, there is no good 64-bit web browser for Linux at all. Firefox won't run, and Epiphany, Ice-ape, and Ice-weasel all crash all of the time.
240.10/19/2007 3:36:00 AMLinux is solid as a desktop, less so as a laptop as there continue to be a lot of wireless issues and other various networking hiccups that users have to over come... the biggest problem is being able to do side things while in linux. for example, I love and prefer developing within linux because of the powerful console windows... but I like to listen to music while i work and the ipod support is very flaky, there are a lot of random programs that each have highlights but no big polished one that does everythingn i need. I can access last.fm and they are working on pandora, but ruckus and windows drm'd material are out. as for new users the overwhelming thing is how many hundred different ways you can do everything. i use yum (or yumex) but the basic users still find yum cumbersome to find what they want because of how many apps do the same thing and they dont know how or want to know how to add their own repo's. also getting compiz-fusion as stable and mainline as possible would be good lure; everyone who walks by and sees it cant stop asking about it
241.10/19/2007 3:45:00 AMMost of the people in the organization are at least familiar with MS Office. If everyone was successfully switched to OpenOffice.org, then the upper management might be able to support a migration to Linux.
242.10/19/2007 4:51:00 AM&quot;stupid users&quot; - The client where they work MUST do the job exactly like their home PC (example (this happened): if you replace MS Office with OOo, they will refuse to click the new icons, run to your boss and tell him you were nasty and broke the PC!)
243.10/19/2007 5:17:00 AMNever change a running system!
244.10/19/2007 5:26:00 AMVisibility of Linux as a quality alternative to more common, proprietary / pre-installed systems.
245.10/19/2007 5:48:00 AMLinux needs to be as user friendly with wizards to set up programs as possible.
246.10/19/2007 5:50:00 AMApplication compatibility
247.10/19/2007 6:42:00 AMBig companies will -in my opinion- move to virtualized desktops due to largely reduced total client seat costs. Support of Linux for that kind of infrastrcuture is crucial. Simple &quot;works the same like windows&quot;-approach is to late for that companies, they go the desktop virtualization way (like us).
248.10/19/2007 7:16:00 AMInertia, They just won't move
249.10/19/2007 7:26:00 AMInteroperability with older applications (ie MS SourceSafe repository) or MS technologies (.NET) Non technical departments demand Windows specific solutions (i.e. all published PDFs must be created by Adobe Acrobat)
250.10/19/2007 7:30:00 AMMS Office
251.10/19/2007 7:37:00 AMWhat our users are used to!
252.10/19/2007 7:41:00 AMCustomers &quot;need&quot; Windows and we need to do what customers want.
253.10/19/2007 7:50:00 AMAll I say is Outlook.
254.10/19/2007 7:51:00 AMCulture ;)
255.10/19/2007 8:21:00 AMCould be useful to adopt a macosx like package distribution (all in the package: binaries and nedeed libraries)
256.10/19/2007 8:24:00 AMlaziness of people
257.10/19/2007 8:40:00 AMhigh end video cards for use with 3d modeling &amp; CAD drafting. also digitizer support
258.10/19/2007 8:48:00 AMMissing Printer/Scanner peripheral support is the biggest issue
259.10/19/2007 9:49:00 AMwe need Qt/GTK using same API, to have portable code on KDE and Gnome, and other DE (xfce for example). We don't want to write an application two or three time for every GUI...!
260.10/19/2007 9:59:00 AMCost of support
261.10/19/2007 10:50:00 AMDifficulties installing non open-source software with Linux, e.g. Vmware, Adobe, certain hardware device drivers which don't integrate well with Linux package management systems and requiring kernel modifications.
262.10/19/2007 11:12:00 AMInteroperation with microsoft office (word, excel, powerpoint, visio). Complete translation to Brazilian Portuguese (still many messages in english)
263.10/19/2007 11:30:00 AMMental barier -- Linux just isn't cut for bussnes use, as my superiors say.
264.10/19/2007 11:37:00 AMSpecifically: to either port Adobe Photoshop over to Linux or to bring software packages such as GIMP up to a more professional level. Likewise with Web development packages (Dreamweaver). Though there are many web dev packages, none come close to matching Dreamweaver for breadth of features and ease of use...
265.10/19/2007 12:05:00 PMI'm waiting when I can say what computer make for me. Example &quot;Computer open browser, site kernel.org&quot;. I know about Perlbox voice but it isn't good stuff
266.10/19/2007 12:05:00 PMWe are not &quot;migrating&quot; to linux. Linux is the glue that holds us together. But our jobs require Mac OS X and Windows.
267.10/19/2007 1:10:00 PMfont handling equal to windows
268.10/19/2007 1:17:00 PMmindshare, no or limited experience and therefore not considered as a solution. It's a marketing obstacle.
269.10/19/2007 1:39:00 PMSupport for applications which use &quot;protected&quot; technology
270.10/19/2007 1:45:00 PMLack of file format support and Pantone colors in graphics applications.
271.10/19/2007 2:11:00 PMA readily available and tested Directory Services Server to replace Active Directory.
272.10/19/2007 2:20:00 PMlack of good, integrated email/calendaring/PDA sync
273.10/19/2007 3:28:00 PMSpotty support for music decoders and sound in general.
274.10/19/2007 3:37:00 PMGood voice recognition software and OCR.
275.10/19/2007 3:42:00 PMDesigner software (adobe apps)
276.10/19/2007 4:07:00 PMTechnical applications. No software is being made available for groundwater and environmental modeling, GIS. Engineering modeling packages.
277.10/19/2007 4:26:00 PMMissing device driver support, not enough knoledge in our factory to write them by ourself.
278.10/19/2007 4:35:00 PMApplication install is still a problem. yum works ok ( limited supported apps ) trying to install some rpm's or most tar's is a dependency nightmare. THIS PROBLEM ALONE HAS TURNED USERS AWAY FROM LINUX. We have to come up with a way to make application installation cleaner.
279.10/19/2007 4:56:00 PMNo simple way to set up home network. Configuration (for almost anything) always seems to fall back on hand editing config files or using the command line
280.10/19/2007 5:48:00 PMTraining, training - that's what's needed. The fact is that even many IT people are still not familiar at all with Linux. MS Windows has dominated the IT world for so long.
281.10/19/2007 6:04:00 PMDirectX... a pipe dream, maybe, but there are some applications with DirectX integration that cannot be used, even virtualized
282.10/19/2007 6:37:00 PMreliable and user friendly SIP client for GNOME desktop
283.10/19/2007 7:00:00 PMDependency of quite a lot of applications on Microsoft Office products (macro's , Visual Basic etc)
284.10/19/2007 7:48:00 PMFor Business use the entire MS Office intergration from back office server (exchange, sharepoint, etc) to front office (MS Access, Outlook, PowerPoint), to remote office (Citrix, Outlook Web Access) is the biggest hurdle. While Open Office, NX (FreeNX), and Evolution/Thunderbird exist; tight intergration with shared folders (MS &quot;public folders&quot;), shared calenders, and their access from multiple aveneus (black berry, web browser, citrix, client) is insurmountable. Only 75% is there on the FOSS side. For Business use a &quot;MS Exchange Killer&quot; is needed.
285.10/19/2007 8:43:00 PMExchange information with other companies
286.10/19/2007 9:15:00 PMSpecifically the cost of migration of in-house programs.
287.10/19/2007 9:15:00 PMsoftware not available on Linux is the major problem
288.10/19/2007 9:36:00 PMapplication support: -&gt; mainly proprietary application support
289.10/19/2007 10:36:00 PMPlatform-specific applications, viz. games.
290.10/20/2007 12:01:00 AMUser perceptions that M$ will always be best, beliefs that M$ should be legally mandated for all PCs, M$ FUD, M$ interoperability concerns, unchecked M$ monopolization, embeddedness of M$ in peripheral devices such as WinModems, Winprinters, etc. E.G., the dominance of M$ is now based on faith.
291.10/20/2007 1:43:00 AMnot really other but when a windows packaged installs , it just does it, with linux after you say install or unpack or run program it doesn't seems to do anything, and i cannot make someprograms work
292.10/20/2007 1:47:00 AMSome industry-standard application (suche as Adobe CS) are missing in GNU/Linux environments, so we have big problems moving from other OS
293.10/20/2007 2:09:00 AMXorg is too far from Windows in auto-detection of cards and screens.
294.10/20/2007 5:05:00 AMEnd user documentation and help files. Almost non existent or incomplete where it does exist.
295.10/20/2007 5:15:00 AMIt is difficult to find vendors who include drivers and installation instructions for hardware or devices; or to find a reliable source indicating which distro's support hardware or devices.
296.10/20/2007 7:03:00 AMKilling off all former Windows machines, in-house facility servers, and Microsoft Office software. ODF has been a great aid for our healthcare databases, and is becoming preferred in the state of Missouri for (regulatory) compliance issues.
297.10/20/2007 11:23:00 AMavailability of commercial packages for linux e.g. Solidworks.
298.10/20/2007 11:25:00 AMbank is something that don't want touch that is working ok... if it's risk, then they won't do this... ;-( but if it will bring money or somewhat good, they will think.
299.10/20/2007 12:01:00 PMvisual and functional quality of ooo write, ooo calc
300.10/20/2007 12:26:00 PMNeed support for Shockwave
301.10/20/2007 12:34:00 PMGames!
302.10/20/2007 2:18:00 PMthe shell
303.10/20/2007 3:10:00 PMNo development eviroment of the quailty of MS visual studio
304.10/20/2007 7:50:00 PMUnwillingness of some of IT staff (both Windows and UNIX specialists); resistance to change of many employees
305.10/20/2007 9:24:00 PMgenerally we do point of sale and wholesale of small and medium sized tech. we need ease of use and seamless intergration!
306.10/20/2007 10:04:00 PMsoftware patents
307.10/21/2007 12:48:00 AMGreater Hardware support for professional Audio Video needs
308.10/21/2007 2:03:00 AMThe one issue that I have found that is hurting Linux is the fact that there are too many distributions. Also the way to install applications needs to be fixed either stick to one format which should be either *.rpm installs or *.deb. I personally prefer deb packages so let's hope this issue is fixed in the future as most of my users are frustrated by not being able to install certain Linux applications straight from the web or is available in *rpm format but not deb or neither.
309.10/21/2007 2:41:00 AMMicrosoft mindset
310.10/21/2007 7:34:00 AMSome things are just daft, in the current reality: openSUSE 10.2's zmd DoS's the machines when it's running. Why not upgrade to 10.3? too new, actually: it's better, I've learned, to put-up-with bad established-system until the bugs are worked-out in the new release. . . /then/ upgrade. . .
311.10/21/2007 9:39:00 AMSupport for Apps such as MSOutlook.
312.10/21/2007 12:27:00 PMWe have a stand-along Linux-based network. The obstacle is getting updates onto it. The current method is a labor-intensive update of a repository server.
313.10/21/2007 1:25:00 PMDon't know
314.10/21/2007 4:00:00 PMAcceptance of Linux
315.10/21/2007 5:01:00 PMlegacy applications
316.10/21/2007 5:43:00 PMPeripheral support is VITAL to linux succeeding on the desktop. Linux needs to recognize and work with our networked printers and other devices.
317.10/21/2007 6:44:00 PMLinux needs more &quot;it just works&quot;, for us to complete complete migration to Linux it's not sufficient to be &quot;on par&quot; with Windows; Linux must exceed Windows' ease of use to make migration cost and re-training justified.
318.10/21/2007 7:07:00 PMMS networking, certificates &amp; wifi methods/configurations are not completely supported.
319.10/21/2007 7:34:00 PMCompatibility with external formats and applications, i.e. doc formats. Communication with courts etc.
320.10/21/2007 9:44:00 PMSeamless transition from Windows to Linux Some users guided by children's desire to load Windows-based games
321.10/21/2007 10:00:00 PMWiFi devices. What's almost automatic in Windows, become a major task or a no-can-do in Linux. This is the single greatest obstacle in converting a user to Linux.
322.10/22/2007 5:35:00 AMLook and feel, particularly fonts. Only PCLinuxOS gets this right of the distros I&#230;ve seen.
323.10/22/2007 8:14:00 AMpeople are unwilling to change their habits
324.10/22/2007 10:44:00 AMOffice Integration
325.10/22/2007 11:28:00 AMStubborness of windows users to try something new.
326.10/22/2007 12:06:00 PMPolitical/ideological - Key stake-holders will not even consider alternatives
327.10/22/2007 1:51:00 PMDevice drivers for specialised hardware (data acquisition hardware, for example)
328.10/22/2007 2:36:00 PMSome of the toolkits we are using are Windows-specific to deploy to our Windows-using customers and would take too much time to port.
329.10/22/2007 4:47:00 PMReadiness/Adaptability (An Illustration: You want to make a chicken pot pie, you need a food processor) Windows: Box sitting on table - Open box, set up, add to existing kitchen appliances, use. Linux: Parts scattered on table - Assemble parts, test processor, find/add missing parts substituting as necessary, set up, add to existing kitchen appliances, test processor, repair compatibility issues, use. Questions: Which pot pie was finished first, and where will the next kitchen appliance be acquired if money is not the sole determining factor?
330.10/22/2007 7:08:00 PMavailability of speacialised software
331.10/22/2007 7:36:00 PMpolitical
332.10/22/2007 7:37:00 PMUse of Windows only applications
333.10/22/2007 7:53:00 PMThe one major obstacle is management's absolute insistence on compatibility with Microsoft Windows. That's what the general knows how to use. And *no* VMware tricks either! The organization is about 75% civilian, but owned and managed by the Army. If a Linux-friendly general were to take charge, I'd gues they would change to Linux inside of two years. Then back to Windows when the next general came along. This has happened before with Sun Microsystems. Get Linux into West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy!
334.10/22/2007 9:51:00 PMThe biggest obstacle is history and inertia. Most people have a history of using MicroSoft Windows and the main organisational IT support infrastructure is MicroSoft Windows centric. (Our part of the organisation have looked after our own Unix servers and workstations for many years)
335.10/23/2007 10:06:00 AMMissing or bad proprietary application (SAPGUI, Lotus Notes, Zetafax, MS Visio etc)
336.10/23/2007 10:07:00 AMCompany Applications In Foxpro
337.10/23/2007 10:29:00 AMavailable special Software
338.10/23/2007 12:25:00 PMHardware compliance, device compliance, OpenOffice Suite, Mail client, wireless, screen compliance etc
339.10/23/2007 3:25:00 PMDual monitor support!!!!!!!!!!
340.10/23/2007 4:58:00 PMEnd User acceptance
341.10/23/2007 6:03:00 PMJava for 64 bit Firefox
342.10/23/2007 6:25:00 PMSlowness at getting KDEPIM bugs addressed
343.10/23/2007 6:31:00 PMAvailability of specific native linux or multiplatform applications.
344.10/23/2007 6:55:00 PMPersonal prejudice
345.10/23/2007 7:08:00 PMMy employer itself. This is a university, the IT is run by IT people (an insult around here). They do not understand the specific need of a lab like mine. Why would people want/use linux. Well because it is perfectly suited to our need.
346.10/23/2007 8:23:00 PMWireless card support
347.10/23/2007 8:39:00 PMSync with &quot;smart&quot; mobile phones which most employees use as a calender together with outlook or other sync appl.
348.10/23/2007 8:49:00 PMInability to get Linux to successfully authenicate against Active Directory
349.10/23/2007 8:53:00 PMCompatibility with systems run by our clients
350.10/23/2007 8:58:00 PMNo alternative to Microsoft Project on Linux. 50% of our company has Microsoft Project installed on their desktops so we cannot switch to Linux for those employees. It costs over $1,000 a copy so the burden cost of our Windows computers is very high. We would like to switch but cannot.
351.10/23/2007 9:13:00 PMWe will not be moving to Linux on the desktop, therefore none of the above.
352.10/23/2007 9:16:00 PMfree innovation and community driven discussion/development
353.10/23/2007 9:33:00 PMdefault kernels unable to address more than 4GB of RAM in 32bit mode; they require recompilation to support that; we need 32bit mode because flash is mission critical in our company
354.10/23/2007 10:59:00 PMapplications for education, multimedia support, internet browser plugins. Being able to do everything a teacher needs to do now, peripherial support ie projector, elmo, promax, etc.
355.10/23/2007 11:05:00 PMApplication support, portability of Word and PowerPoint with our clients. iTunes on the personal side is an obstacle for a couple of developers.
356.10/23/2007 11:12:00 PMI need the Oxford English Dictionary CD-ROM v 3.1. If I can use that on Linux - I will have NO Microsoft Windows stuff AT ALL, and no virtualisation - which I keep trying but have not yet succeeded in finding one that will run my OED. I am now about to try VirtualBox 1.5.2
357.10/23/2007 11:30:00 PMsee previous comment
358.10/23/2007 11:58:00 PMUser attitudes
359.10/24/2007 12:29:00 AMThe syncing to palm os devices is not good or consistent
360.10/24/2007 12:48:00 AMI need to be able to print good quality photographs on ink jet printers which have been output from digital SLRs in RAW.
361.10/24/2007 1:14:00 AMInteroperability with non-Linux users
362.10/24/2007 1:26:00 AMLack of choice and immaturity of existing (Scribus) desktop publishing software.
363.10/24/2007 1:42:00 AMThe notion that &quot;nobody got fired for buying Microsoft.&quot;
364.10/24/2007 1:54:00 AMAs a university we have signed long term service contracts with several proprietary vendors to handle our course management software (Blackboard), student id security and purchase system (Blackboard) and to handle student records. These deals are multiyear and pretty expensive. Unless there was a substantial cost savings I am pretty sure this fact would be a big hindrance to a more widespread adoption of Linux.
365.10/24/2007 1:56:00 AMI am assuming &quot;application support&quot; means availability of applications. This is the biggest obstacle we face in deployment - applications, applications, applications.
366.10/24/2007 2:00:00 AM1. Educational programs (Reader Rabbit, etc.) 2. SOL Online Testing, required for No Child Left Behind 3. SASIxp student database program 4. OpenOffice is great, and I love it, but other teachers and the SBTS/TSSpecs freak out if it isn't Microsoft.
367.10/24/2007 2:02:00 AMManagement resistance
368.10/24/2007 2:06:00 AMBootable software that's easy to use in a recovery situation.
369.10/24/2007 2:12:00 AMWindows Software Needed
370.10/24/2007 2:21:00 AMLack of awareness. Unwillingness to change. FUD.
371.10/24/2007 2:44:00 AMDisinformation in the public about Linux.
372.10/24/2007 3:18:00 AMNever happen until IBM puts Lotus Notes on Linux and packages it with all their support. So far this is a disappointment. Even though Domino runs on Unix. Schizophrenic IT organization. They said they were going roll out Vista. That to is never going to happen.
373.10/24/2007 3:35:00 AMI need the software To Just Work with the hardware I buy. I need X, for example, to know that I have a laptop with an external monitor and a docking unit and to just get it right depending on whether the CPU is docked or not. I need to plug in my USB printer it out spit my document. I need it to not be such a headache to make a custom kernel for my hardware. After 15 years, I've yet to successfully build one. I gave up instead.
374.10/24/2007 3:35:00 AMIT executives unwilling to use non Windows solutions
375.10/24/2007 3:43:00 AMUsers are not willing to give up what they are used to. Will continue to use Proprietary systems just to complain about it.
376.10/24/2007 3:47:00 AMNative Linux Applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe/Macromedia products for development and education requirements within the United States... Most colleges require that you run Word/Excel, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe/Macromedia products for the classes. It makes being a student difficult, then it's difficult to find college graduates that have a good background and proper training in Linux.
377.10/24/2007 4:42:00 AMInternal servers depend on Window NT. Internal groupwares and user authentication depend on MS Windows
378.10/24/2007 4:58:00 AMApplications, and an entrenched 'Windows-only' attitude
379.10/24/2007 5:25:00 AMmy wife. lol
380.10/24/2007 5:30:00 AMLack of a complete solution for Enterpirse Management
381.10/24/2007 8:37:00 AMInsufficient application/document compatibility with 3rd party vendors not providing Linux compatibile sollutions on their own.
382.10/24/2007 9:12:00 AMNeed grenades to frag M$ dependent bureaucrats.
383.10/24/2007 9:44:00 AMThe upper IT management is very pro-Microsoft and most of the IT staff has only experience of Windows.
384.10/24/2007 10:29:00 AMDesktop management, authentication, user management is THE major obstacles. Something like Active Directory for linux would be awsome.
385.10/24/2007 10:34:00 AMNot having to buy Windows on the PC
386.10/24/2007 11:29:00 AMLack of high-quality office and media design applications
387.10/24/2007 11:35:00 AMIdiot, Microsoft-zombie Vertical Application Developers
388.10/24/2007 11:55:00 AMEnd user resistance to change
389.10/24/2007 11:55:00 AMMy organization uses a significant amount of Automotive Industry websites which are only compatible with Flash/Java in Internet Explorer.
390.10/24/2007 11:57:00 AMSelling it to the upper managers (CEO, CIO and such)
391.10/24/2007 12:07:00 PMSpecific windows programs (Labview, ..)
392.10/24/2007 12:10:00 PMManagers affected by Microsoft FUDs
393.10/24/2007 12:22:00 PMThe main obstacle in my opinon is that Linux is not (Windows + Open Source + $0). Linux is a compleatly different OS that makes no attempt to be like Windows, because of this Windows users who try to do things the Windows way run into serious trouble. For example the Windows way to install software is to download an .exe, the Linux way is to use apt, or yum, or synaptic. People trying the Windows way will be unable to install software and may return to Windows with a story of &quot;Linux is hard to use, I can't even install software&quot;. Or they may learn the Linux way. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Duck_Syndrome I don't think this is a problem with a solution, but I think its a major obstacle. P.S. a not sure option above would have been nice.
394.10/24/2007 12:43:00 PM-laptop hardware support -Wifi support -LDAP authentication support
395.10/24/2007 12:48:00 PMMostly, we stick with Windows because of a perception that it's the only OS our customers will ever use.
396.10/24/2007 12:56:00 PMWe have many in house programs that it would have to run.
397.10/24/2007 1:08:00 PMGet data out of proprietary applications and find aequivalents.
398.10/24/2007 1:27:00 PMSpecialized apps that are Windows specific: Track-It!, ResSched, etc.
399.10/24/2007 1:44:00 PMwe use MS VIsio and Quicken daily - without those apps, we're then required to run VMWare increasing our cost
400.10/24/2007 1:46:00 PMAbility to remote manage desktop/laptop throughout organization.
401.10/24/2007 1:48:00 PMNo support for critical applications.
402.10/24/2007 1:56:00 PMOvercoming deliberate close-mindedness in decision makers.
403.10/24/2007 1:58:00 PMVP of I.T. heavily invested in Microsoft, lack of knowledge by senior I.T.
404.10/24/2007 1:59:00 PMthey are not as informed of the new trends - doing things like PDMS, autocad, strucad, etc..These apps need to have equivalents or be runnable on linux. Alternatively, these are not really reqd by most users. Mainly just the design folks.
405.10/24/2007 2:13:00 PMUpper management and select middle management in bed with MSFT.
406.10/24/2007 2:16:00 PMrequired applications not ported to linux (adobe photoshop.. for example)
407.10/24/2007 2:21:00 PMintegrate groupware, Exchange replacement
408.10/24/2007 2:28:00 PM3G (HSPDA) support for mobile computing
409.10/24/2007 2:33:00 PMApps that are windows-only that lock in some desktops to using windows, windows in vmware, or wine.
410.10/24/2007 2:36:00 PMVisual Studio and developing for DotNetNuke
411.10/24/2007 2:39:00 PMLack of equivilant applications especially GIS &amp; CAD related.
412.10/24/2007 2:48:00 PMNeed better drivers and linux-native SW for special products (Polar Heart Rate Monitors for example).
413.10/24/2007 2:52:00 PMmicroshaft winblows politics of parent organization
414.10/24/2007 2:59:00 PMMainly just inertia
415.10/24/2007 3:07:00 PMI checked &quot;not an obstacle&quot; for each one since Linux handles each of these far better than the other OS I've used (MS Windows).
416.10/24/2007 3:09:00 PMpublic opinion (management &amp; employees)
417.10/24/2007 3:25:00 PMsome critical applications have to run on Windows
418.10/24/2007 3:26:00 PMCritcal: Availability of updates and new releases via OS distributors - not just the software vendor.
419.10/24/2007 3:33:00 PMATI Radeon Xpress Graphics (installed BIOS) in computers fails sometimes with Xorg: have to choose a distro that works.
420.10/24/2007 4:11:00 PMScanning - major obstacle
421.10/24/2007 4:21:00 PMPrograms become platform incompatible as the OS is upgraded. This means that getting a program working may limit the ability to upgrade other programs or functions. We need a way to ensure that a base OS is compatible for several years with the programs being released. Win XP is 5 years old and most programs developed are still compatible. The pace of change in the open source world, without a base reference means that if you want to upgrade a particular program you often have to upgrade the whole OS. This is a long term weakness. It would be good to have programs that are certified to run against an OS. Perhaps the Click and Run of Linspire is able to handle this. Stability of the entire system and cross compatibility of programs are bigger issues than features such as 3D graphics. MEPIS has done well at keeping programs installed functioning well. PCLinuxOS as well. Ubuntu needs to keep a code base longer than 6 months so that new programs will be compatible.
422.10/24/2007 4:32:00 PMThe third column should read 'Not *an* obstacle'.
423.10/24/2007 4:44:00 PMDon't know... I'm not in IT
424.10/24/2007 5:22:00 PMSome times hard to config, still major grafic bugs in allot of applications and some irritating event handling/sys msg bugs... some signals appears to disappear in to magic no where...
425.10/24/2007 5:25:00 PMapplication availability
426.10/24/2007 5:39:00 PMSenior management has never dealt with anything but Windows
427.10/24/2007 5:56:00 PMIncomplete support for MS Office formats
428.10/24/2007 6:20:00 PMSeamless compatibility with MS-Office formats. OO.o isn't there yet, though it's vastly improved.
429.10/24/2007 6:39:00 PMThere are many small Windows applications that run in our offices that are critical for normal business operations. Wine does not work for most of these applications. We have a few technical users that can use Linux but the day-to-day operations can't be performed on the linux box because of the application issue.
430.10/24/2007 6:52:00 PMThere are no obstacles - we are not migrating - we are already there.
431.10/24/2007 6:57:00 PMNobody considers it a realistic possibility.
432.10/24/2007 7:34:00 PMGroupware, lots of groupware servers and clients exist. They can't communicate. We feel that a common goal to all use the Groupdav protocol (www.groupdav.org) for client and server will end the nececity for companies to use exchange server and pave the road to Linux
433.10/24/2007 7:37:00 PMWhile the OS is very solid and stable, several necessary applications (e.g. Evolution's Exchange connector) are not. This completely destroys the &quot;better quality&quot; image Linux otherwise projects.
434.10/24/2007 8:48:00 PMIn all honesty, I don't know if I can say, since my organization allows us to install what we want if we choose. With that said I don't think there would be any support from IT if you do put linux on a computer.
435.10/24/2007 8:50:00 PMThe only approved operating system is windows. It will literally take an act of congress to change this.
436.10/24/2007 9:47:00 PMRelation with other companies that don't use linux and use dedicate programs or applications that run on Windows.
437.10/24/2007 10:51:00 PMwill like to Have pre-installed Linux on Desktops and Labtops sell at retail store, let costomer have choose and let me have choose, and I don't like just choose Windows.
438.10/24/2007 10:57:00 PMNo AutoCAD port for Linux. :-(
439.10/24/2007 11:03:00 PMInteroperability! Windows servers and clients are everywhere and will be for the foreseeable future.
440.10/24/2007 11:23:00 PMLicensing/support is the problem for virtual servers/applications where vendors don't support apps run on Linux, i.e. use of Samba to imitate Windows file sharing for an app that uses Windows and Mac. Resource forks!
441.10/24/2007 11:49:00 PMPure linux Network management. (To replace Microsoft Active Directory)
442.10/24/2007 11:53:00 PMWe don't have any issues and have been running solely Linux systems for 6 years without issues. Many prospects we talk to about migration quote Quickbooks as the main reason.
443.10/25/2007 1:37:00 AMthis is a home desktop. none of the above apply
444.10/25/2007 2:52:00 AMNot migrating. Already use Linux.
445.10/25/2007 4:02:00 AMVideo driver support for newer hardware, NVIDIA driver support for new T61p laptop is problematic.
446.10/25/2007 4:59:00 AMseveral mission critical applications have been developed in-house for the windows platform. to cost to move away from these is prohibitive.
447.10/25/2007 5:11:00 AMThe ability to automount USB hard drives.
448.10/25/2007 6:17:00 AMNo iTunes
449.10/25/2007 7:50:00 AMYou cant find decent (if any in the country I live:Greece) ERP, CRM solution for linux.
450.10/25/2007 8:26:00 AMToo many distros. Confusing to other corporate decision makers. One distro has problem A solved but not B or C. The next distro has B and A solved but not C and so on. It's difficult to make a solid case for using any particular desktop distro when what my clients and I need is a combination of PCLinuxOS 2007, Mepis, MandrivaOne 2008, OpenSuse/SLED and maybe Kubuntu. PS. Question 7.2 needs a third option for &quot;Not sure, haven't seen or tested a pre-installed Linux product.&quot;
451.10/25/2007 10:11:00 AMLocalization/Internationalization
452.10/25/2007 10:33:00 AM&quot;Windows-only&quot; bias of management
453.10/25/2007 12:18:00 PMLack of native versions of our mission critical CAD/CAM software.
454.10/25/2007 12:26:00 PMMany embedded development tool chains are written only for Windows and do not behave well under WINES
455.10/25/2007 12:36:00 PMAvailability of CAD packages we useis a major obstacle to transition since we cannot translate &amp; support 20+ years of existing designs. CAD companies 'wrote the book' on vendor lock-in, they do not make data translation easy, As such, the cost for our engineering department to change would be substantial. Since Cadence has no plans to support OrCAD tools on Linux, we are stuck on Windows, for CAD at least, the near term at least. That means wine, virtualization or dual boot at best.
456.10/25/2007 12:46:00 PMmicrosoft products perceived as safe choice microsoft products perceived as industry standard microsoft products' dependency other microsoft products (e.g. MS CRM requires MS Office, MS Exchange, MS Sharepoint, MS SQL Server, MS Windows)
457.10/25/2007 12:50:00 PMInertia
458.10/25/2007 12:52:00 PMSpecific applications availability
459.10/25/2007 1:02:00 PMOpen Office suite keeping up with MS Office file formats and plug-ins.
460.10/25/2007 1:05:00 PMCorporate mindset
461.10/25/2007 1:06:00 PMIt ain't Windows.
462.10/25/2007 1:10:00 PMThis survey seems to be for MS Windows users -- we do not use MS software here!
463.10/25/2007 1:12:00 PMThe fear of the unknown (there should be some mass-media advertising on GNU/Linux)
464.10/25/2007 1:18:00 PMBlackBerry's in use, Network Management, custom software in use with outlook.
465.10/25/2007 1:19:00 PMBy far, the biggest obstacle: zh_TW language support
466.10/25/2007 1:21:00 PMLinux Desktop really needs to be more tuned for multimedia.
467.10/25/2007 1:44:00 PMThe decision makers have had the M$ lobotomy. They have spent all our money ensuring that M$ is always the chosen vendor regardless of how expensive or crappy their products are.
468.10/25/2007 2:11:00 PMconvincing users to gie it a fair chance
469.10/25/2007 2:12:00 PMnot fully compatible with other (MS Office07) software that sister organizations use
470.10/25/2007 2:16:00 PMattitude - &quot;we have always used Microsoft systems.&quot;
471.10/25/2007 2:27:00 PMOnly holdup is the windows only applications which my company runs.
472.10/25/2007 2:33:00 PMNot sure, but *how* exactly could the availability of pre-installed Linux desktops be considered an obstacle? You would rather expect the *non*-availability to be a problem. (this problem exists for other questions as well)
473.10/25/2007 2:34:00 PMmain ERP is windows based and uses mssql
474.10/25/2007 2:36:00 PMManagement perceptions of Linux as an alternative to Windows.
475.10/25/2007 2:58:00 PMMany hardware peripherals are only M$ Windoze capable so are not useful for Linux use. Such as Skype Phone compatibility, audio and video capture devices.
476.10/25/2007 3:02:00 PMWe need a good architectural CAD program that runs on Linux. This is our only major obstacle to 100% conversion to Linux
477.10/25/2007 3:17:00 PMIT department doesn't support Linux, doesn't want to support Linux, is afraid of supporting Linux.
478.10/25/2007 3:18:00 PMThird-party web applications are a problem. One clear example of this is in hotels, where you must go through a web application to use the for-pay high-speed internet in your hotel room. Many use a web application that will not work on Linux, so I can't use the internet unless I'm on Windows.
479.10/25/2007 3:18:00 PMstability of applications
480.10/25/2007 3:20:00 PMNot only having device driver support but tools to manage or setup those devices. Need a &quot;Works with Linux&quot; logo or something like the old &quot;Runs with Netware&quot; logo for peripheral devices.
481.10/25/2007 3:24:00 PMThe general quality and QA of Linux seems to be much worse compared to Windows. It is the overall quality of the Linux distros that is holding us back. Not any individual specific issues.
482.10/25/2007 4:02:00 PMindustry-specific application support. Media playback shortcommings (media players that scrub on the timeline)
483.10/25/2007 4:18:00 PMDistracting influence from commercial vendors who manage to have more grip on decisionmakers. Lack of awareness of OpenSource possibilities, commercial entities tend to have much better publicity and will reach potential clients.
484.10/25/2007 4:21:00 PMInertia
485.10/25/2007 4:22:00 PMOrganizational Intertia
486.10/25/2007 4:39:00 PMResolving dependencies when upgrading Inconsistencies in user interfaces Inconsistencies in location of files
487.10/25/2007 5:26:00 PMTHE BIGGEST: Total lack of Blackberry sync for the linux desktop. (There are some hacks that work, but too challenging for the unwilling user who just &quot;wants his blackberry to work&quot;)
488.10/25/2007 5:38:00 PMAutodesk AutoCAD
489.10/25/2007 5:39:00 PMWe write software. None of our customers run Linux, so switching to Linux would just mean that we'd be developing on a different system than the software runs on. That's a recipe for disaster. So a switch would be a matter of investing a lot of effort to make things worse for ourselves. Even if we did switch, our codebase is completely designed around Microsoft technologies (e.g., COM); a port to Linux would be entirely unfeasible without some sort of compatibility layer. But really, the barriers don't come up; even if there were no barriers to a switch, there would be no business case for us to change operating systems.
490.10/25/2007 5:42:00 PMignorant decision makers - fud works, sadly.
491.10/25/2007 5:43:00 PMKDE and GNOME both look like ass.
492.10/25/2007 5:44:00 PMwe develop a software product that is intended to integrate closely with windows. we test on windows constantly to ensure compatibility.
493.10/25/2007 5:45:00 PMPrinting support.
494.10/25/2007 6:25:00 PMThe less the Linux experience is from what people do with Windows creates frustration levels that make Linux not worth dealing with.
495.10/25/2007 7:06:00 PMCompatibility with external (mostly Windows users
496.10/25/2007 7:26:00 PMCritical line of business applications missing
497.10/25/2007 8:18:00 PMOnly two employees use Linux as a desktop
498.10/25/2007 8:38:00 PMToo many Linux distros for desktop focuses on Gnome, normal end users are NOT geeks and will never like Gnome. Many current KDE distros are lacking in one way or the other, this is keeping Linux desktops away from mainstream users. Reduce the geek-factor.
499.10/25/2007 9:14:00 PMOur proprietary applications,
500.10/25/2007 10:20:00 PMActive Directory, Exchange/Outlook, several proprietary systems that depend on Windows or MS Office Applications such as Access
501.10/25/2007 11:02:00 PMfor us to be able to sell the switch to management easier, we need to be able to point to good groupware to replace our lone exchange server with.
502.10/25/2007 11:21:00 PMSupport for multiple monitors, with full OpenGL hardware acceleration enabled Support for high-end audio cards like Soundblaster Live and Soundblaster Audigy that have surround sound and 4-6 speaker configurations An open source or commercially available DVD player program with legally licensed codecs Better support for internal zip drives would have been nice, though we have found other alternatives Commercial antivirus (previous screens only listed McAfee and Norton, both of which I hate - I prefer ZoneAlarm)
503.10/25/2007 11:55:00 PMReliance on Windows applications
504.10/26/2007 12:15:00 AMThe only real obstacle is lack of Linux versions of certain needed software programs. Question 2 below is not detailed enough. Linux desktop deployment is dependent on have Linux versions of the software programs currently in use; otherwise, deployment must wait until Linux versions become available or that software is replaced - either way this time is typically measures in years not months or weeks.
505.10/26/2007 12:49:00 AMEnd user demand for linux desktops is simply not present. Most users are familiar with Windows, and while I'm happy to provide Linux desktops (such as the one I use) to those who want one, it would be too much of a disruption to simply force a deployment to everyone. (Complaints, higher frequency of minor support questions, etc)
506.10/26/2007 12:54:00 AMGetting people over &quot;It's not Windows&quot;
507.10/26/2007 2:10:00 AMHeavily invested in Microsoft Client / Server architecture with legacy apps. Cost of conversion is prohibitive.
508.10/26/2007 3:07:00 AMSenior management's perception of Linux being inferior to Microsoft products. Some call this &quot;mindshare&quot; combined with &quot;marketshare&quot;.
509.10/26/2007 3:19:00 AMWe do overwhelmingly use Linux -- probably our biggest issue is getting new folks out of their Windows-centric view of the universe.
510.10/26/2007 4:42:00 AMLack of quality graphical tools.
511.10/26/2007 4:53:00 AMLack of available commercial applications
512.10/26/2007 5:39:00 AMMajor Earth-Science Software such as ER Mapper, ESRI Arc GIS, Geosoft and the Autodesk products are not available for linux, don't run under emulation (HW dongle issues), and the vendors appear to have no interest whatsoever in Linux support.
513.10/26/2007 5:45:00 AMsorry, we not migrate from x to GNU/Linux, but we choose GNU/Linux at first.
514.10/26/2007 7:08:00 AMWindows Comability
515.10/26/2007 7:13:00 AMHaving to train desktop support technicians on both linux and windows skill sets is too expensive. They come and go from the organisation too quickly and once they have linux training they tend to leave or think that they are system administrators. Either way, hiring people or retaining people that are multi-skilled in this way is too expensive.
516.10/26/2007 7:32:00 AMMS-Office Compatibility! Web audio/video (i.e., no Windows Media Player &amp; problems with other web audio/video)
517.10/26/2007 8:25:00 AMThe only main obstacle: the lack of capability of perfect reading/writing MSOffice formats, because of frequent file exchange with our partners
518.10/26/2007 8:39:00 AMBusiness Application availability (e.g. MS Office)
519.10/26/2007 9:07:00 AMDrivers - ATI Graphics
520.10/26/2007 9:43:00 AMwe are in a vendor lock-in even web based programs do not function proparly on Linux. Lot of back-end work still to do.
521.10/26/2007 9:56:00 AMEnd user familiarity with Windows
522.10/26/2007 10:04:00 AMQuality development tools
523.10/26/2007 10:21:00 AMManagement buy-in
524.10/26/2007 10:29:00 AMBank / VC acceptance of the usage of linux. We have to explain why we don't use windows every time.
525.10/26/2007 10:31:00 AMPerceived greater research/implementation time - minimal IT department.
526.10/26/2007 10:38:00 AMSenior management intransigence
527.10/26/2007 10:57:00 AMHighly dependent on Microsoft applications - unfortunately!
528.10/26/2007 12:38:00 PMprejudice of most users!
529.10/26/2007 12:59:00 PMavailability of specific applications.
530.10/26/2007 1:20:00 PMLiving with the poor decisions of yesterday, and the mentality of digging a bigger hole. Old habits.
531.10/26/2007 1:41:00 PMlargest obstacle is getting the applications to work on differant platforms
532.10/26/2007 2:56:00 PMThe main issue is users not being familiar with the applications and causing an increased workload on us. Even though they may not understand Microsoft Windows and Office applications they will blame their inability to get things done on the linux desktop more and expect us to walk them through it.
533.10/26/2007 3:12:00 PMVideo application maturity
534.10/26/2007 3:17:00 PMMany business-specific website require Active-X and Internet Explorer
535.10/26/2007 3:56:00 PMWiFi Driver Management!
536.10/26/2007 4:00:00 PMAutoCAD compatible software
537.10/26/2007 4:07:00 PMUse of windows app
538.10/26/2007 4:47:00 PMplug and play ability needed , especially with 3g /HSDPA cards and modems, no messing around with programming
539.10/26/2007 5:30:00 PMdriver chasing wastes productivity time, as does rebooting when hot swapping glitches occur
540.10/26/2007 5:59:00 PMLong term support of a Linux distribution/version is an issue. Currently, the code and apps are under constant revision which makes deploying a large number of identical systems which need to exist for several years difficult. Even if apps are only updated for security or bug fixes, often &quot;dependency hell&quot; and dead-end dependencies end up gutting the system.
541.10/26/2007 6:12:00 PMNeed a grammar checker for French / Spanish that is integrated with Open Office or other linux based software.
542.10/26/2007 6:50:00 PMMajor obstacle is customers. We develop in Windows, and until accountants in general move to Linux, there is a reluctance to write a whole new code base in Linux for our products (VERY expensive)
543.10/26/2007 6:56:00 PMDocument exchange with external partners in &quot;Windows formats&quot;.
544.10/26/2007 7:56:00 PMdrivers for slide scanners do not exist
545.10/26/2007 8:53:00 PMGetting the top bosses to understand how important it is to use only products that actually support (true) open standards. They're too married to the idea of &quot;Microsoft Everywhere.&quot;
546.10/26/2007 10:08:00 PMStupid Internet Explorer-only web sites that fail on Firefox.
547.10/27/2007 12:48:00 AMCompany managers prefer Windows for everything.
548.10/27/2007 1:22:00 AMWe migrate installations from Windows to Linux as a business
549.10/27/2007 10:46:00 AMOur management feel Microsoft is the safest option, don't understand FOSS
550.10/27/2007 3:17:00 PMperception that Linux has not arrived.
551.10/27/2007 7:48:00 PMtoo many distros that run different packages and the availability of packages that will not run on the distro that you are running. Unable to download a package from a site and install package, you have to wait until your distro has it listed in their download manager or package will not run at all.
552.10/27/2007 8:58:00 PMWhether we like it or not, people are extremely comfortable with MS Windows, and so, the onus is upon Linux to convince a largely skeptical and lazy audience that there is a better alternative. Installers need better compatibility (space, etc., not package dependencies) checking.
553.10/28/2007 8:24:00 AMGame support(must be able to relax)
554.10/28/2007 10:31:00 AMSince we do not migrate but went with Linux from the begin, there are no such obstacles.
555.10/28/2007 10:47:00 AMwifi capabilities, power management (especially for laptops - saving battery power)
556.10/28/2007 3:10:00 PMThere is the FUD (Fear Uncertainty Doubt) factor. Besides, the inherent human nature of being reluctant to make a paradigm shift will not go away from my organization.
557.10/28/2007 4:58:00 PMApplication support, but also hardware connected to the applications, as with video editing: Avid mojo box connected between pc (with avid software) and hd-cameras.
558.10/28/2007 5:30:00 PMDo more testing on different PCs before releasing a Linux distribution and remove major bugs. People who try linux (especially after fresh distros) become frustrated when their first experience is negative. Less new features, work more on old bugs!
559.10/28/2007 9:48:00 PM1. Company bias favoring Microsoft products. 2. No serious upper management interest in exploring possible benefits of using Linux.
560.10/29/2007 1:50:00 AMAs mentioned before, proprietary software, required by law.
561.10/29/2007 2:59:00 AMIn-house web applications are written for the the desktop using .Net framework. These applications once deployed only work 100% primarily in Internet Explorer on Windows or Konqueror running in IE mode( runs very slow). IES4Linux reuires a Windows license.
562.10/29/2007 5:01:00 AMcustomers that actually run linux on their desktops would help ;)
563.10/29/2007 8:12:00 AMMS Windows has been used for a long time now and people are used to it. Some even glory in the fact that they do know more about some tiny Windows-bits than others and would block against something new.
564.10/29/2007 8:12:00 AMabsence of native versions of some applications (Indesign, Photoshop, etc.)
565.10/29/2007 9:56:00 AMThe fact that our decision makers are in bed with Microsoft
566.10/29/2007 12:01:00 PMBeing able to run our specific accounting applications in the Linux environment.
567.10/29/2007 2:01:00 PMPolitics! Get the PHBs out of their &quot;we decided to standardize on Windows&quot; mantra. And that's the biggest one, believe me.
568.10/29/2007 2:24:00 PMpolitics, fear
569.10/29/2007 2:56:00 PMInability of the organization to provide an option to pre-configure new systems with Linux. Most every one has to install it themselves and Linux is still not a standard option to have it installed on personal thinkpads.
570.10/29/2007 4:46:00 PMDeveloper tools
571.10/29/2007 6:39:00 PMMindshare/FUD problems
572.10/29/2007 9:34:00 PMHW design tools, 3D CAD
573.10/29/2007 11:08:00 PMA gap to be familiar with text environment.
574.10/30/2007 1:14:00 AMRefusal to consider anything other than Windows and Intel products
575.10/30/2007 2:47:00 AMWIFI support WIFI!!!!!
576.10/30/2007 5:39:00 AMRather than pre-installed Linux I would rather Windows license-free versions of major vendor hardware, such as Dell etc.
577.10/30/2007 7:19:00 AMWindows centric company culture and history, lacking experience/willingness of employees
578.10/30/2007 7:24:00 PMDifficulty in configuring &quot;X&quot; properly can be a major obstacle with some distro's.
579.10/30/2007 7:55:00 PMLong-term support (the kind offered by Ubuntu in their LTS versions) that give peace of mind for a stable code base for several years at a time.
580.10/30/2007 9:01:00 PMfound this question and supplied answers difficult to evaluate depending on context of certain words such as &quot;support&quot;
581.10/30/2007 9:24:00 PMAbility to play media that uses patent encumbered codecs.
582.10/30/2007 9:52:00 PMsoftware incompatibility
583.10/31/2007 2:53:00 AMVideo, scanners, printers, O.S. upgrades and palm pilots need to just work.
584.10/31/2007 5:59:00 AMApplications that are win32 native. And a lot of small company developed win32 apps.
585.11/1/2007 4:26:00 AMmultimedia support, plugins and codecs for Linux
586.11/1/2007 11:36:00 AMGlobal strategic agreements with third party vendor (Microsoft)
587.11/1/2007 2:17:00 PMour clients platform
588.11/1/2007 2:32:00 PMmostly clients being tied into commercial software
589.11/1/2007 4:33:00 PMis there a way to rate missing driver support even higher than Major Obstacle?
590.11/1/2007 6:23:00 PMnot relevant
591.11/1/2007 9:16:00 PMMostly controlled by the needs of my last remaining client, 1/2 continent away and using Windows. Some of their other programs (which I must be able to run) are Windows only.
592.11/2/2007 12:36:00 PMcomplete lack of support from some hardware producers (e.g. data acquisition cards)
593.11/2/2007 3:47:00 PMManagement, we have too many Managers and technical leads who his misconceptions about Linux and take the attitude that MS technologies are the only way to go.
594.11/2/2007 3:50:00 PMinertia, fear of something new
595.11/2/2007 8:37:00 PMGirlfriend's boss insists she uses Windows on work machines
596.11/3/2007 9:20:00 PMExisting user familiarity with Windows
597.11/4/2007 5:40:00 PMWe are already running Linux.
598.11/4/2007 6:18:00 PMLack of applications
599.11/4/2007 6:20:00 PMNeeds a compatibility layer! Finding the same program for each distro without the ability to deploy the same app across the different distros is annoying.
600.11/4/2007 10:25:00 PMFinding a client that can reliably(!) connect with and use Exchange calendars, messaging, and email.
601.11/5/2007 2:33:00 PMLAck of plugins for Explorer like Qlikview
602.11/6/2007 12:08:00 AMMicrosoft trained techs in IT department will never recommend Linux as they think their jobs are at risk! Linux is brushed off, and company board policy pointed out to users trying to run non-MS software.
603.11/6/2007 3:42:00 AMDevice Support vis a vis a *stable* kernel API. Without that, few device manufacturers will ever decide to support linux in any way.
604.11/6/2007 5:48:00 PMBecause some classes are for buisness app, Windows office is the required as well as other. I need AutoCAD in my lab and nothing is close in Linux. I try to be involved in the gaming industry, maybe we will help in that area.
605.11/6/2007 9:31:00 PMOne of the bigger obstacles we've come across have been closed source graphic card drivers, and also closed source commercial software packages. Also multi platform software deployment- and asset managment systems.
606.11/6/2007 10:45:00 PMLack of useful backup utilities/applications. Need tools with variety of options from full backup to incremental with simple restore facilities. Being able to sync common files/folders with several devices (e.g. laptop and desktop) are needed
607.11/7/2007 5:40:00 AMUser acceptance in our &quot;open culture&quot;
608.11/7/2007 12:47:00 PMThe business world can't wait for every app to be ported or every peripheral to be supported.
609.11/7/2007 11:53:00 PMEntrust support, with drivers for encryption tokens.
610.11/10/2007 8:30:00 AMIntertia. Microsoft has a big headstart.
611.11/12/2007 6:45:00 PMexecutive level notions that FOSS is not viable in large organiztions.
612.11/13/2007 12:50:00 PMAdaptation of existing applications
613.11/14/2007 7:54:00 AMLack of trust in Linux.
614.11/14/2007 9:27:00 PM