Does your boss allow you to use a Linux desktop at work?
If so, what have you replaced the typical office software with?
My boss has allowed me to switch this past week away from Windows to Linux. I am using openSUSE. I replaced Microsoft apps with OnlyOffice and it has been working great - It even integrates well with SharePoint.
I have brought it up a number of times but my boss is very reluctant to switch or even allow some employees to use it. Apparently he allowed this for someone prior to me working with the company and the guy posed a huge security risk. I just don’t see how he was able to do that unless it was intentionally. Someone who worked with him and still is with the company believes it was intentional. Sadly, it has soured my boss’ views on Linux and I won’t be using it for work anytime soon.
As I mentioned in another thread, it is easier to start a company with Linux than it is to move one to Linux from Windows.
When I work from home (50% of the time) I am using a Ubuntu set-up. While I can’t use it in the office, I am able to use it in my home office so that is good enough for me. I would assume not unless your company already has a blend or Linux base, most owners of tech companies that have already been established will be reluctant to allow their workers to use something different.
The containers count? If so yes!
When it comes to servers, we do. The main desktops thought that everyone work on are running Windows unfortunately. I just bring my laptop that has Fedora installed on it to work with me so when I can get away with avoid Windows, I do.
I wish! I am hoping within the next 5 or so years, that transition away from Windows happens. It would be so much cheaper for the company and more secure. I think a lot of older business owners still trust Windows and paid software vs open source and community functioning.
I made a thread expressing I would like to convince my boss/company owner to migrate away from Windows and what it would take to do so. I have brought it up again since making that thread and he didn’t seem as outwardly annoyed by my suggestion. He didn’t say no, he just told me to talk to him about it in the new year. So we will see.
From my POV, it’s all about management’s prejudices when it comes to Linux or not, and prejudices often run pretty deep. I’ve been in organizations using Unix/Linux and Windows. It’s usually the engineering/development staff that want Linux for control over their destiny, and it’s pretty much application availability that gives Windows its support (even amongst engineers). And, come to think of it, Linux/Unix has never been the only way; Windows always has a significant presence. Macs sort of intersect with Windows and Linux: easy to use applications and BSD/Mach under the hood.
I’ve found that solving a small problem with Linux helps build confidence with management. Problems you can solve in an eye blink in Linux (e.g. networking, samba, …) that annoy people yet have low consequences if your project fails (it wont) make perfect candidates to demonstrate Linux’s upsides.
I do use a Unix system for my desktop (a MacBook Pro 
), and at work I run a cluster of about 750 Linux systems; the cluster is controlled by about a half-dozen Linux systems.
Well said. I think that has a lot to do with it. Troubleshooting on Linux seems a lot easier or rather solving through research.
I recently had to go back to using Windows (albeit dual boot), but on Win 10, I could not get it to print with my printer. That was such a nightmare. Then shut down the PC and booted it the following day, and it printed.
It reminded me that back in the day, many windows issues seemed to be solved by simply rebooting. Of course, there is an underlying service or issue that is fixed with the reboot.
Whereas with Linux, you have the satisfaction of finding a specific package or config issue and addressing it as it’s less proprietary and more open. That indeed builds confidence fast!
Can Linux be controlled by GPO? How do you guys manage 750 servers? Most places I’ve worked at are a Windows shop. So I’m accustomed to that side of the world.
We manage the OS & up, and generally we do not do OS updates. Generally we just wipe & reinstall, and it is only occasionally that we do that. Our 750 servers are a testbed for the company, and and the users want a stable environment, thus no updates.
For managing our application and things, we use Salt to install (we are switching to docker+ansible at our next refresh). When we get a system, we get a base OS install of our choosing (Ubuntu 20.04 right now), then we run our Salt code to deploy the application, set up users, NFS, whatever.
As part of daily use, the systems are rebooted by users, so I am writing a custom monitoring solution that will notify of issues.
I’m not familiar with GPO, so I cannot answer that, sorry.
This is true. It seems like you need to work your way into the introduction by starting smaller. I am going to be bringing it up at the monthly meeting. We have one at the end of each month. I will have to see how it goes. I have a few others on board with me as well.