The 15 critical questions you should ask about anything are Cost, Who, Cost, When, Cost, Where, Cost, Why, Cost, Way, Cost, Worth, Cost, What, Cost. We tackle those questions about Linux and more.
Who?
Who should use Linux? Linux does everything which means everyone can use Linux. Linux has many distributions (variations) with some designed for servers, some for the desktop, and some for handheld devices. Android is the most famous version on smartphones. It is not important to ask who should use Linux. Instead we should be looking at which distribution is the best for each person.
People wanting realtime processing will use versions of Linux enhanced for low latency operation or they will use Unix, which is a predecessor to Linux. Some versions of Unix are true realtime operating systems. Some versions of Linux are fast enough for close to realtime audio and video processing. Almost everything that runs on Linux will also run on Unix and almost everything on Unix will run on Linux. Give people Linux and reserve Unix for the few server applications requiring true realtime.
In the last few years, I have not found a single case where a person needs anything outside of Linux for their desktop and handheld devices.
Cost
Ok, there is a small investment required to train people when they switch to a new operating system. The cost of upgrading a person from Windows or OSX to Linux is more than the cost of a simple operating system version upgrade but it is less than the ongoing cost of sticking to the proprietary operating systems from Apple and Microsoft.
You can start by replacing applications on OSX/Windows with free open source applications that work on Linux/OSX/Windows. You then save licensing fees and upgrade fees at the application level. After that the operating system replacement is almost invisible.
When?
When do you upgrade to Linux? New hardware purchases are the best time. You can test Linux with the hardware, find the odd hardware driver if there is a brand new peripheral chip in the machine, then put the machine into use.
The new hardware switch is easier when you have changed your applications to free open source software before the hardware switch. If your applications are not yet upgraded, you might have some delays while upgrading your applications or setting them up to run under Wine and other alternatives.
Cost
There is a cost connected to upgrading hardware. The cost of upgrading the first hardware item to Linux can cost more than just accepting the supplied default operating system. you start to save money after the first two or three devices are upgraded. You save money when you avoid what would have been the first expensive software update from the old software.
Where?
From a location perspective, the proprietary software costs increase dramatically, compared to other costs, as you move away from the headquarters of the proprietary software publisher. Open source software does not increase in cost based on geography or any other borders. You can download for free. If there is a data download cost, you can copy the free open source software locally. Pass around a USB stick or a CD or whatever is cheapest. You can copy machine to machine using free device to device network connections.
America should be the cheapest place to run proprietary software but in fact it is becoming very expensive to be compliant with their drastic anti piracy laws, a good reason to remove all proprietary software.
In Australia, the proprietary software is sold at a ridiculous premium by the monopolies that own the local sales rights. In Australia, proprietary software can cost three times what everyone else pays. The only way to bring the proprietary pirates to justice is to replace most of their sales with the free open alternatives.
Cost
The only cost associated with locations is the broadband access cost and data download charges. From my experience with Linux Mint, compared to Windows, most of the updates are due to the installed applications, not Linux. Windows is different. There were some truly weird updates for Windows when I let Windows update itself.
Windows and OSX updates also lock out applications, expanding your small operating system update into a giant round of application updates and application licence fees. While Linux operating system upgrades can occasionally require matching application updates, it is rare and there are no licensing fees or restrictions.
Why?
You update your car and computers every three to five years. Microsoft realised that most corporations update every three years and introduced that for their software. You have to buy a new version of Windows every three years even if the new version is worse than the previous version, as happened with the Vista version of Windows. Apple makes life worse by forcing you into a yearly update.
Most Linux distributions have an optional update cycle that you can choose to use, modify, or ignore. They have frequent security updates the same as Apple and Microsoft although they are frequently ahead of the other two because the Linux developers do not try to hide anything. There is no waiting six months for Microsoft or Apple to acknowledge a risk.
Linux distributions have frequent update versions that change every six months, slower update versions that change each year, and LTS (Long Term Support) versions for people who do not want to update. You choose what you want. There is no cost for changing.
Cost
Is there ever a cost of changing Linux from frequent updates to LTS or the other way? There might be. Some of the popular versions of Linux offer all the choices and there is not cost for changing. Some of the les popular versions of Linux offer only one choice. You can choose up front to install a flexible version of Linux then change back and forth at any time.
As an example, Linux Mint alternates fast updates with LTS releases. The LTS releases are good for years.
Way?
How do you upgrade to Linux? Start with upgrading your applications to the free open source alternatives that run on every operating system. For Windows based computers, you can then install Linux as a dual boot option until you are completely happy with Linux. You then delete the windows part of the dual boot arrangement.
For Linux Mint and many other distributions of Linux, you can download Linux to a USB flash memory stick or DVD or CD then boot from that media to test Linux. You can prove Linux works with your hardware before committing to the upgrade. If there is an incompatibility, you can investigate the hardware requirement before making a permanent change.
The one command you might use in Linux is lsusb. On the rare occasions, I found hardware problems with recent versions of Linux, the problem was related to bad device implementations of USB 3. The lsusb command identifies the USB device and you can then search for updated device drives, the little bit of software that connects the hardware to Linux.
Cost
There are a small number of hardware brands that ignore Linux. You then have to wait for a Linux developer to build a hardware driver without help from the hardware manufacturer. Given that there is very little change from chip to chip, updated hardware drivers are usually available in three to six months. Buy one example of the hardware you want to use. Test the hardware. If there is a problem, report the problem. Wait a few days or a few weeks. Apply the relevant update. test. Now you can buy the other 9,999 devices for your corporation without a worry.
Worth?
Over a decade ago, when organisations where after a roadmap for the future, I presented the following status update. A number of organisations changed and report significant savings after the first year when some staff were learning different software.
Linux is the open source replacement for Unix, Windows Web server, and a contender to replace the Windows desktop operating system. Everyone reports saving money with a change to Linux servers.
Today Linux is no longer the contender, it is the winner on points and Microsoft is preparing to block Linux from winning by a knockout. Android is the name of Google's distribution of Linux. Android killed Microsoft Windows on smartphones then beat Apple's OSX (a version of Unix). Microsoft are adding tricks to their desktop software to slow down upgrades to Linux. The earlier you change, the lower the cost of the change.
Linux knocked out Windows on Web servers and most other servers. Only a few retarded Microsoft applications keep Windows alive on servers. While overall server usage increases, the use of Microsoft server is slowly decreasing. The cost of useful experienced Windows server staff is increasing when compared to Linux. The cost of keeping a Windows server secure is increasing when compared to Linux.
Cost
Linux is the completely free operating system, no license fee, no update fees, no money to spend on managing licenses, no nothing. How does Linux compare to everything else? Are there any hidden costs? Up front, there is no cash outlay. Some areas require small investments in training and other items. They are covered in some of the other questions and in almost every case, after the initial conversion, Linux saves money instead of costing money. Most organisations report a full return on investment in the second year of use.
What?
Linux is an operating system. In your computer, there is some hardware then firmware level code, often called a BIOS, then the operating system then applications. Most people spend most of their time in applications and rarely notice the operating system. You can often replace the operating system without changing the way people work because they see the operating system less than one percent of the time.
Windows, OSX, and the other limited operating systems are restricted to a narrow range of hardware and firmware. Linux runs everywhere. You already have Linux in devices around your home and office. Your television or printer or refrigerator uses Linux if it is less than a decade old. Almost everything with a display screen uses Linux. Your car, router, smartphone, security system, automated lighting, air conditioning, remote controls.
Some applications from Microsoft, Apple, and other mega corporations are specifically written to stop you using them on Linux. This is to protect their hundreds of billions of dollars of profit they make from you. Most of those applications can be replaced by applications that are as good or better.
Many of those applications can be made to run on Linux as operating systems are not that much different at the point where an application connects to the operating system layer. No application developer wants to be restricted to Windows which means the applications can also run on OSX. OSX is just Unix with some expensive plastic surgery. If it runs on Unix, it is relatively easy to run on Linux.
The choice of operating system is no longer a restriction imposed on you by smart application developers.
Applications
What applications do you use now? What are the free open source replacements?
As an example, ProjectLibre is a replacement for Microsoft Project. Based on my experience of ProjectLibre and Microsoft Project, I would not step back from ProjectLibre to Microsoft Project even if Microsoft Project was totally free.
LibreOffice is better than Microsoft Office for most uses. Thunderbird kills Microsoft Outlook. I have several copies of Microsoft Windows unused because there are no applications to run on Windows. Filezilla is a great application and now runs on Linux.
There was a popular alternative to the Pencil design software but I forget the name of the proprietary software. Due to competition from the free open Pencil, the other developers made sure their software could run in Linux under Wine.
Even Microsoft is promoting open source compatibility. While they have not yet delivered an open source version of Microsoft Office, they have delivered open source compatible application development tools and a couple of open source code libraries.
Cost
There can be a cost of moving to a new operating system. There is usually a cost for upgrading to new hardware and that is a good time to switch operating systems because the cost of starting the new machine on Linux is very little difference from the cost of starting the machine on Windows or OSX. If you have already moved your main applications to free open source applications, there is less setup cost compared to setting up a new version of Windows.
Conclusion
When Microsoft decides open source is the future, you no longer have a reason to stay with proprietary operating systems. The only consideration is how fast you upgrade.
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