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Evaluating OSS Desktop Solutions Print

Desktop solutions provide tools such as office suites, graphic manipulation applications, software development tools, utility software and internet clients. Desktop solutions are not new, and in fact, have existed ever since the computer was created to help human beings be more efficient and productive. There are various desktop solutions that are currently active in development and used widely and are now considered common to us all. Although often taken for granted, desktop solutions are considered one of the most essential pieces of software in a today’s desktop computer. It provides an easy interface for human beings to interact with the computer without knowing the inner workings of the computer. It also easily binds together the various applications in a computer to work without conflicts.

Desktop Benefits

Desktop Manager for Application Management

Almost all desktop solutions include or work with a desktop manager. Desktop managers provide users with a consistent look and feel as well as a standardized menu allowing convenience and consistency in desktop applications. The consistency in look and feel allow users to be comfortable to the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the desktop applications while a standardized menu allows familiarity, lower learning curve and user friendliness in any applications used on desktops.

Network Transparency

Desktop solutions hide the complexity of network configuration from the users. Network transparency is essential to assure the ease of use of applications like the email and web browsers. It allows users to harness the power of a networked computer functioning as a client to exchange data with any server without any complex configuration or manipulation.

Centralized Configuration

Many desktop solutions today include a centralized configuration option which will help system administrators with desktop management issues. The centralized configuration functionality allows system administrators to remotely manage the look and feel, application appearance, printer configuration, etc. of a desktop from a central location.

OSS Desktop Component

Desktop Managers

Desktop Managers provide users with a consistent look and feel as well as a standardized menu allowing convenience and consistency in desktop applications. The consistency in look and feel allow users to be comfortable to the Graphical User Interface (GUI) of the desktop applications while a standardized menu allows familiarity, lower learning curve and user friendliness in any applications used on desktops. GNOME and KDE are examples of OSS desktop managers.

Desktop Authoring Tools

One of the tasks most often used in desktop solutions is document authoring such as the writing of text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. There are many OSS software applications which not only provide users with the ability to perform document authoring, but are also able to interchange document formats with other third party software such as the popular Microsoft Office Suite (MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint). The most popular open source document authoring software is Open Office but other alternatives such as Koffice, Abiword and Gnumeric also exist.

Internet Services and Productivity Tools

Internet communication is undeniably an important requirement in today’s world. OSS alternatives to desktop email clients (Evolution, Balsa, Slypheed) and Web browsers (Mozilla) address this and some even offer a full set of functionality without any licensing fees. For example, the Evolution email client very comprehensive, with advance features like support for address books, to-do lists, calendar and synchronization with handheld devices like palm pilots. Another example of Internet productivity is real time communication tools, such as real time text based communication applications (x-chat), messaging services (gaim – which supports many protocols such as Yahoo and MSN), and net meeting (gnomemeeting) which resembles Microsoft's NetMeeting.

Multimedia Tools

OSS offers a wide range of multimedia rich applications. Normal users wishing to view streaming video are able to use Real Player and QuickTime, although commercial software, is free for use and runs on Linux. Mplayer and Xine are OSS movie players which support a wide range of codecs (windows media, DivX, etc), VCD, DVD and many other movie formats while XMMS is an application for playing mp3 similar to Winamp. Graphic Manipulation Tools For graphical users, there are OSS alternatives to commercial tools. The GIMP is an OSS example for photo retouching, image composition and image authoring similar to Adobe Photoshop. OSS 3D modeling and rendering software are also available such as Povray, AC3D, Blender and others.

Application Development Tools

Development tools provide software programmers with a GUI for simpler software development. Examples of OSS tools in this category are QtDesigner, Cervisia and Glade. Some tools like Eclipse allow users to program in various languages.

OSS Desktop Success Factors

Engaging with Partners

Since a poor transition strategy would have dire consequences, agencies should look for ways to reduce the implementation risks. The answer is to engage with a trusted partner who will assist them in planning and implementing all phases of a successful migration to Linux and open source. Obviously, the ideal partner is one who understands the agency's needs, has the knowledge and experience to implement the most appropriate solution, and who will be around for the long haul.

Proper Training and User Acceptance

Since OSS is a considerably new technology, it is important that a series of training and user assessment tests to be done and satisfied. Users who are not comfortable with using certain software will in the end give up putting the success of the project at risk.

Enforce policies and culture

Certain policies must be enforced to ensure a unified format for desktop documents. For example, all staff must use the Open Office Text Document format for all documents. Another example would be to use Open Office macros instead of MS Office macros. A successful policy would yield a successful OSS desktop solution implementation.

Instill Awareness

Awareness of OSS must be instilled among the users in the agency. OSS covers a wide range applications and awareness towards these applications is important to enable further enhancements to current solutions for a better working environment.