Fw: Free IBM book on migrating to desktop Linux + newbie's new year rant

[David Ecklein]

Dear GNHLUGs -

I joined the discussion group last October, asking about migration to Linux
from Windows.  Thanks for your helpful suggestions at that time from many
GNHLUG folk.  Hopefully, I will get around to applying them sometime soon.

A friend just sent this - apparently, IBM has a 260 page book out on the
subject.  Although you can download the PDF for free, they might have a
hardcopy available for a modest fee.

--- start of rant ---
On the GNHLUG discussion; I confess much of it is over my head, whether
dealing with arcane matters or assuming knowledge of Linux not (yet) in
possession of yours truly.  This slope is no novice trail for me - but I
will stay on it without being able to contribute positively for now.  I have
far more questions than answers, and some degree of suspicion as to whether
Linux is indeed the Holy Grail, or maybe a waystation to something more
ideal.  Frankly, my assessment is that software is now in a far more
disorganized and primitive stage than hardware with regard to
general-purpose desktop operating systems.  And that excessive layers of
higher level protocols and languages have choked off possibilities of
application software from effectively exploiting the opportunities that
colossal hardware advances of the past few years have opened up.  Instead,
the high cholesterol of many software "advances" often render existing
hardware obsolete.

As a small-scale clone builder in central NH (Rumney), I have been urged to
promote Linux as an alternative offering on new machines (by the friend who
sent the msg below, and several others).  There seems to be good reason to
do so (M$ systems
are a big cost item, and the software itself leaves much to be desired -
violating virtually every canon of structured system design taught in
computer science departments since the 1970s at least).  Although my
knowledge of Windows is limited and my desire to know more is even less, I
have been able to function for years not only putting together clones but
occasionally bailing clients out of ungodly messes.  Upgrading components in
Windows systems is sometimes challenging, but rarely impossible.  I have
fears this will not be so should I decide to support Linux to any extent
beneficial to my clients.  Sure, I have loaded Red Hat for one guru-level
client, and myself for experiments   But what am I to do when Mr & Ms Front
Porch brings me a machine that has a compromised Linux installation on it,
particularly if it is a maverick distribution of uncertain vintage?  How
could it be that the Wizard of Rumney who offers Linux as the wave of the
future cannot fix their system or answer simple questions?

For the past couple of years, I have offered a 10% discount on all systems
running Linux.  The caveat is that any handholding on my part would not
included (in fact, is not available as yet).  Not a single taker as yet.
--- end of rant ---

Happy New Year to all,

Dave Ecklein
www.diacad.com


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kenyon Karl" <kenyon.karl at valley.net>
To: "David Ecklein" <dave at diacad.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 4:24 PM
Subject: Free IBM book on migrating to desktop Linux


> Dec. 17, 2004
>
> IBM has published a "Redbook" aimed at assisting those interested in
> migrating desktop PCs to Linux. /Linux Client Migration Cookbook: A
> Practical Planning and Implementation Guide for Migrating to Desktop
> Linux/ provides in-depth detail on the technical and organizational
> challenges and includes methods for planning and implementation,
> according to the book's cover. The 260-page book is available for free
> download as a PDF file.
>
> _(Click here for a larger cover image)_
> <http://www.desktoplinux.com/files/misc/ibm-desktoplinux.jpg>
>
>  From the back cover . . .
>
> The goal of this IBM Redbook is to provide a technical planning
> reference for IT organizations large or small that are now considering a
> migration to Linux-based personal computers. For Linux, there is a
> tremendous amount of "how to" information available online that
> addresses specific and very technical operating system configuration
> issues, platform-specific installation methods, user interface
> customizations, etc. This book includes some technical "how to" as well,
> but the overall focus of the content in this book is to walk the reader
> through some of the important considerations and planning issues you
> could encounter during a migration project. Within the context of a
> pre-existing Microsoft Windows-based environment, we attempt to present
> a more holistic, end-to-end view of the technical challenges and methods
> necessary to complete a successful migration to Linux-based clients.
>
>
> The book is organized as follows:
>
>       *Part 1 -- Choosing Linux*
>             Chapter 1. Introduction
>             Chapter 2. The case for migration
>       *Part 2 -- Planning the pilot migration*
>             Chapter 3. Organizational and human factors planning
>             Chapter 4. Technical planning
>       *Part 3 Performing the pilot migration*
>             Chapter 5. Migration best practices
>             Chapter 6. Client migration scenario
>             Chapter 7. Integration how-tos
>       *Part 4 -- Appendixes*
>             Appendix A. Using enterprise management tools
>             Appendix B. Application porting
>             Appendix C. Desktop automation and scripting
>             Appendix D. Client personalization
>
> Download the IBM Redbook here:
>
>
> _*Linux Client Migration Cookbook*_
> <http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg246380.pdf> (PDF download)
>
>
>