Linux in the library

Posted on May 20, 2008 by melanes

Faced with an aging home computer (5+ years is certainly a dinosaur) and the inevitable need to upgrade, I started looking at Linux operating systems. Upgrading to Vista would certainly mean a new computer. I am reluctant to upgrade to Vista for a variety of reasons so I have been testing various versions of Linux. I haven’t made a decision yet, but I am curious if any libraries have considered a Linux option? The GUI’s are similar to windows, so the learning curve is not as steep as it used to be. The cost is certainly right. How many libraries are holding off upgrading to Vista?

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3 Responses to “Linux in the library”

  1. catalogeek, on May 20th, 2008 at 5:07 pm Said:

    Our director has decreed that we will not upgrade to Vista. As it is, we’re only now getting all of our systems up to XP.

    As for switching to Linux, there are several compelling reasons. The most important thing to consider, however, is how the computers are being used. If they’re public use computers, then I’d be very hesitant to make the switch due to the leaning curve. Most patrons struggle enough with Windows, despite having it at home or having some familiarity with it. Making them learn a completely new operating system would likely frustrate most of them.

    On the other hand, if they never see the OS environment (for example, a catalog computer where everything is run from a browser), then switching to Linux would be easy. Then again, if the system works as it, why bother switching at all?

    That probably didn’t help much.

  2. mchlsamuelson, on May 20th, 2008 at 6:03 pm Said:

    Ubuntu Linux is probably the best option for users new to Linux. It has a vibrant community, great support, and a lot of steam behind it.

    Ubuntu uses the Gnome desktop, which is OS X-ish, so maybe better for those coming from a Mac background - or those wanting something different.

    There’s also a Kubuntu distribution that uses the KDE desktop, which is more XP-like.

    I run Kubuntu on my personal laptop, and am pleased with it…

    Probably the best way to decide what you like, and find out what will work best on your machine, would be to download a Live CD of one of these distributions, which you can use to boot up in Linux without installing it or messing up your current system… search the web for more info and instructions on how to do this. It’s not too tough.

    mlsamuelson

  3. melanes, on May 21st, 2008 at 3:46 pm Said:

    Our library is also not upgrading to Vista. Though, at some point we will have to change that stance. We are already having some patrons bring in Word and Excel documents saved in Vista versions that can’t be opened at the library. Our patrons are familiar with OpenOffice and Firefox. A linux desktop can be designed to look and act like Windows, so the learning curve could be minimal. Still, I could see how some patrons will reject it.

    I have been playing with some Live CD versions - Fedora and OpenSuse. I have been impressed and didn’t find it all that different from Windows.

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