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Not UNIX@Work?!? Surviving with a Windows Desktop

Not UNIX@Work?!? Surviving with a Windows Desktop. Gilbert Detillieux September 12, 2006 MUUG Meeting. Outline. Motivation Why switch from a Linux desktop? Installation What I needed to add to Windows to stay sane Demonstration (Time permitting) of some of the handy tools Irritation

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Not UNIX@Work?!? Surviving with a Windows Desktop

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  1. Not UNIX@Work?!?Surviving with a Windows Desktop Gilbert Detillieux September 12, 2006MUUG Meeting

  2. Outline • Motivation • Why switch from a Linux desktop? • Installation • What I needed to add to Windows to stay sane • Demonstration • (Time permitting) of some of the handy tools • Irritation • Rants about why I still hate Windows

  3. Motivation: My Environment • Essentially heterogeneous • UNIX (Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X), Windows • Most work not done on the desktop itself, but on remote servers (mostly UNIX) • Need to run some Windows programs • MS Office, Palm Desktop, WaveLAN AP Manager • Want desktop environment to be stable, and go for years without major upgrades • Want to avoid hassles with drivers, plug-ins, etc.

  4. Motivation: New Hardware • AMD 64 based system • Some x86_64 maturity “issues” • New motherboard w/ new chipsets • Linux driver issues (esp. nVidia graphics) • How long to wait for Linux support? • Want to avoid 3rd party binary drivers

  5. Motivation: Windows at Home • Need to share home computer with new (Windows aware) partner • Again with the driver issues!... • Printer not well supported under Linux • Learning to “cope” with Windows, rather than constantly rebooting

  6. Motivation: Emulation Issues • Need for Windows → VMware under Linux • Old licensed versions don’t work with newest kernels • New vmplayer OK, but… • Still have some problems due to emulation (hanging, crashing, poor performance) • Kernel upgrades break vmware drivers • Still need to customise sessions

  7. Installation: Essential Tools • Support for remote sessions • Cygwin/X for both SSH and X-Window • VNC and Remote Desktop • Virtual desktop support • Virtual Dimension (Sourceforge, GPL) • Mouse cursor, cut & paste • True X-Mouse Gizmo for Windows

  8. Installation: Essential Tools • Web browser • Mozilla Firefox • A few handy extensions (Zombie Keys) • E-mail • Mozilla Thunderbird • A few handy extensions (Zombie Keys, Nostalgy, Mail Redirect, Signature Switch,…) • A fast, secure IMAP server

  9. Demonstration • Cygwin/X for both SSH and X-Window • Virtual Dimension (Sourceforge, GPL) • True X-Mouse Gizmo for Windows • Mozilla Thunderbird Extensions

  10. Irritation: Windows “Issues” • Cygwin/X != UNIX • Compatibility issues (e.g. file permissions) • Integration issues (e.g. with virtual desktops) • Potential virus/worm vulnerability • Non-Administrator user limitations • Flawed security model • Software installation/configuration problems • Automatic updates = uncontrolled reboots!

  11. Irritation: Mozilla “Issues” • Occasional crashes or quirks(regardless of platform) • Extensions may be the cause • Thunderbird good, but still not always as fast/convenient as a good text-based mailer!

  12. Conclusion • Windows XP itself is stable enough for extended use. • Cygwin/X provides reasonable UNIX compatibility and connectivity. • Thunderbird acceptable as replacement for text-based e-mail client. • Windows and UNIX can coexist!

  13. Questions?

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