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On 16/02/2014 15:24, bad apple wrote: > Take a lifetime office worker, who has spent all their working life on > Windows 2000, XP, Vista. Which OS do you really think is going to be > easier for them to adapt to - Win8 without Metro, or any Linux system? I have enjoyed the interchange of views. Like bad apple, I have to contend with a number of systems to earn my crust, and I find some have significant "lock in" - profitable to vendor and also to using company as employees get used to their system and do work (Work is what pays the bills!) I find the MS lock in revolves around: Company works over many continents (The one I think of has entities in 80+ countries) All work computers (3000+) work on MS systems XP / Vista / Windows 7 with gradual migration at present of XP to Win 7. MS OS present - MS Office 2010 present (except Communicator) - MS Communicator 2007 present (for commonality but this sometimes causes problems in interaction with MS Outlook) -SAP mounted where used (Big problem at present trying to get production factories out of their old systems (DOS era database type)and onto SAP whereas accounts & office workers use SAP OK) - MS Outlook is main tool for all communication. To attempt to shift would be major disaster as only a sub set of this can transfer to a Linux system. As IT is in India, they can repair a booting computer for software issues, but I use live Linux to start and get files etc off non booting ones (no local IT guy so I am ''standby amateur'') There are horses for courses. I find MS has its good points and other OSs have their good points. All have there intrinsic bad points. When not in a lock in situation as above you can start SMBs on Linux but they fall at the hurdle of accounts programs (non free ware that handle VAT/ EU/ VAT properly for charities) so accounts have MS Windows and Sage or QuickBooks or whatever for which their similar bookkeeping folks in that money-line can exchange tips of how to work the systems. Analogy: I ran a 'odd ball' military unit (divers with odd things to do) there I used a real 'bad soldier' (with beautiful hands for defusing) as my main defuser, even though he was a big pain to the unit. He had the skills for the job. we got him there and brought him back. MS OS = diving main users are OK De-fusing explosives undersea use non-diver with correct skills (like a Linux system to above main MS operations). Never assume there is only one solution that is perfect! -- regards Eion MacDonald -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq