Linux Desktop Recommendations

[Lan Barnes]

Brian LaMere wrote:

> 
> Hmmm...I could go on and on about how impressed I am with all the
> integration that goes on with our exchange here.  I told Lan this, but I'll
> share with the rest ;) -->  When I miss a call, I get voicemail.  Normal
> enough.  -except-...that voicemail is also converted into a .wav file, which
> is sent to me in an email.  Wow.  I can email someone a word document and
> they get it as a fax.  Cool.  I can pull down a ceratin "resource" (like a
> particular conference room), find out a lot of people's availablity,
> schedule a meeting there...all really quick and easy.  Cool.  The helpdesk
> system integrates into exchange as well.  And when someone adds a new
> emplyee to exchange, the option on my phone that says "corporate directory"
> will automatically allow me to get their phone number by entering the first
> couple letters in their name, and scrolling through the list.  Neat toys.
> Actually helpful, too.   Can you tell me a UNIX app that does even half of
> this?
> 

No. I've been told that TWIG is a killer app of this type, but haven't had
a chance to try it (http://twig.screwdriver.net/).

Open Source stuff scratches itches, and I guess the OSS community hasn't
itched here enough yet.

> True though...when exchange died a couple months back, and was down for *8*
> freaking days, we were unable to get voicemail, all sorts of things stopped
> working, yada yada.  Almost paralyzed the company, sadly enough.  And it
> took them *8* days to restore it, as apparently the database had been slowly
> getting corrupted for quite some time and they weren't able to restore old
> stuff due to the corruption.  Don't ask me, I don't do the NT stuff...heh
> 

Those are the risks of a single-vendor solution. No options. They go down,
you go down.

There is a larger (to me) issue implicit in this thread. We all work for
people, and those people have prejudices and mind sets independent of ours.
I've given up trying to rescue my employers from Windows. If they're
suckers enough to talk themselves into that, f*** 'em. No, make that fuck
'em. They get what they deserve.

But I would like to live in a world where the small businesses -- and the
large ones that are willing to think for themselves -- can be educated in
what's available in Free Software, and can succeed using it.

Web sites that announce that they are IE only should be hacked, ping
flooded, and spat upon. 'Course, that's just one guy's opinion . . .

-- 
Lan Barnes                 lbarnes at san.rr.com
Icon Consulting, Inc       858-273-6677

Twenty percent of zero is better than nothing.
                       - Walt Kelly