Big banker backs Linux

BOA lost my entire application for a bank account. Took them one week to realize that. I was told this happens. Mission Critical with MS Windows? Very funny, indeed!

Mate, I don't know what you do for living but what comes out of your mouth is total load of BS. Only MS dependent/pressured/paid business can come up with such silly logic.

I've been in IT for a while. The only object who needs to know Windows/Linux distinction is IT department. Sales guys can too if they want to :) but they don't have to. This is not their area of expertise.
Now for IT department. You don't have to retrain anyone AT ALL !!! You just sack useless Windows admins and hire Linux professionals. And it's a good investment in itself. Linux admins can usually do both windows and Linux - windows admins can't !!! :)

Now for the users. For a normal user there won't be any difference - just different "desktop theme".
Users never get trained on operation systems !!! They usually get trained on applications. And this is a different matter all together.
Users are usually not even allowed to go anywhere past their desktop shortcuts, most of them don't want to.
And you don't have to train for a different desktop look, do you? :) Oh, I forgot, the double clicks are the same on windows and Linux.
I swaped someone's computer once. Yeah, they noticed the difference but when I started explaining that it's a different OS they got lost on 10th second. They liked the compiz though :) and after my lame explanation about the OS he said he wants "jumping windows" at home (compiz). The point is he never got what a different OS is. And never will. He is not IT. He does not care. He just needed to know how to start his applications which are the shortcuts on the desktop.
That was my last job.
My current job, users only know their Citrix shortcuts and the browser. I bet that swaping their OS to Linux will be totaly transparent to them :)
Case closed.
Most our servers and applications are on Linux anyway. I have to admit though, it's hard to get rid of Exchange :( Business wise hard.

nice troll, keep it rolling bro

ROTFLMAO! Hey, at least you got that right!

@ smartless_than_the_minority

Ok, I will vouch for you as an ardent Microsoft shill. You can show this note you your employer and collect your blogging fee now. You really deserve your Microsoft cheque (say *Hi* to monkey-boy!).

Yes, certainly some retraining will be required in a move to Linux (to the average user, probably about the same level as moving from XP to Vista or Win 7). I looked up the link in the posting on the experience (this is the correct spelling, BTW) of the school board in Canada a couple of messages up. Looks pretty convincing to me. But I guess that whole thing was just a fluke, though, eh?

Of course, you are free to not check out information contrary to your viewpoint, and to keep paying through the nose to the Microsoft Piper while applying virus patches or repairing infections as you wish. However, free choice is not always the same thing as a wise choice. I very much doubt that you are in an IT job (according to your aggressive and foul language), but here are some corporate success stories I found re: conversion to Linux, for you not to look at:

http://netshooter.com/linux/storyeicher.html

http://apcmag.com/french-police-switch-from-windows-to-linux.htm

And hundreds of corporate Linux installations by Novell:

http://www.novell.com/servlet/CRS?reference_name=&-op=%25&Action=Start+Search&Submit=Start+Search&source=novl&full_text_limit=showcase_verbiage+%2C+press_release&MaxRows=0&product=0&&solutions=0&

Toodles!

I will give you that *some* employees may resist a transfer to a Linux based OS having been trained/worked on Windows based systems their entire lives more than likely but, there is also most certainly a major "learning curve" for the vast majority. This has been proven over and over again and is completely documentable. Denying this shows you lack of "real-world" expierience.

A wise move indeed. Whenever I convert a Windows server to a Linux server one thing happens: service calls drop by 99%... Customer is happy, I am happy...

As for re-training stuff to use Linux...

My wife used Windows for as long as she can remember. I mean she does not know what a command prompt is and what is the command "dir" or a "command line" command for that matter. I installed her Zenwalk (a slackish [Slackware like] super slick and neat distro) and in 3 hours she was using it like she had used it for as long as she can remember. She could do everything she did on Windows...

So spare me the re-training cost for Linux bull excrements. The reason for failure can be two things: stuffdoing everything they can to resist it (out of fear of the unknown) or MS throwing in bonuses, commissions and discounts). Get real.

Take into reference companies like BOA and CITI which *TRIED* to convert to Linux based OS in the past few years......the cost of retraining the vast majority of their workforce far outweighed any savings from the conversion. They both ended up back on MS based Windows OS systems.

The same will hold true for Morg./Stan. if they attempt a conversion of office systems company wide.

Yeah. Those database applications sure take a lot of training in how to use the operating system.

I pity the fool that thinks SQL developers have never seen Linux before.

These types of choices by large firms is exactly what caused the fall of so many. Linux *may* be cheap, but, retraining the whole staff far outweighs the benefit!

Could this choice be exactly the reason this company is considered junk right now?

Well...most of the internet, and most supercomputers run on Linux, so this only makes sense to me. There are also the security, reliability and cost saving angles to consider. The entire school district where I live in Canada converted to Linux in 2006, with phenomenal success:

http://openeducation.org.au/wiki/index.php/Thin_Clients_HOWTO

In terms of money saved, I did a quick calculation of switching the company I work for to commercial Linux (Suse). This resulted in a savings of about 3 million per year + eliminated the need to upgrade hardware to Vista/Win 7 standards. Definitely something to think about (and any CEO's that neglect options like this during our current economic situation -- instead of laying people off -- may not be doing their employees or shareholders any favors).

Er, I couldn't see anything wrong with the article linked there. It's the pragmatic choice that has a load of real benefits so they use it, and they get a "warm glowy feeling" when they contribute back. Everyone's happy. apart from you. :)

This is good news for Linux. Good news like, "We can't cure your cancer, but we can make you live three weeks longer than we once told you".

With friends like this who needs MS to bash Linux?