Ubuntu, IdeaStorm and my friend Dave….

Here’s an interesting (about 9 minute long) video I found on Dell’s website. It features Mark Shuttleworth (Ubuntu project founder) talking about how Linux found it’s way into Dell’s product mix, via IdeaStorm.

Enjoy.

I promised an update on the Ubuntu experiment that we undertook with my friend, Dave. If you recall from a previous post, my son installed Ubuntu on an old (about to be discarded) desktop. With nothing left to lose, he wanted to experiment with Linux.

After playing for a couple of weeks, we have a satisfied customer. Dave’s PC did not have a network card in it. After booting Ubuntu and playing for a short while, he was very eager to see how everything worked once he was connected to the Internet. The idea was that this new PC was to be basically a PC for his kids – to allow them email access, web browsing and access to Internet based gaming.

After a quick trip to purchase a network card, he managed to (without help from us) get it up and running. Not quite as seamless as a “true” plug’n'play experience, but mission accomplished, nonetheless. His family is now “connected”. All that remains to be seen is how his kids respond to the new environment. Stay tuned.

Linux is Centerpiece for Negropontes $100 Laptop

Linux strikes again. In a recent article on MSNBC, reporting on progress being made on Nicholas Negroponte’s vision for a $100 laptop, (currently costing about $175 and dropping) pointed to another sign that Microsoft is losing relevance as an operating system.

Nicholas Negroponte, as you may know, was the former Director of MIT’s Media Lab. He has since left to run a non-profit to develop a $100 laptop, called XO, for the citizens of poor, under developed countries.

And what operating system does it run? Linux, of course. Kudos to Red Hat for providing technical assistance to the project.

Initially a disbeliever of the project, Microsoft (at this late date) has now offered MS software to the project for $3 per laptop. Sorry MS – that ship has sailed.

Fountain of Youth for your old PC?

My friend Dave, has an old Dell desktop with 128mg memory and a 800 mHz Pentium 3 processor. The PC was primarily used by his family for playing computer games. His kids had long ago abandoned the PC because it was so slow, and they lacked the patience to wait until it booted before moving onto some other activity!

So there his PC sat, unloved, unused, abandoned.

With nothing left to lose, he asked us to install Linux on it. Our first attempt failed, when we got a cryptic error message before getting to the install screen. Since we were previously successful with a similar processor and 256mg of memory, we speculated that a memory upgrade was required. After a quick trip to Best Buy to retrieve 256mg of additional memory ($49) we were in business.

In less than an hour we had transformed an aged relic into a fully functioning (dare I say speedy?) PC once again. It now boots in a fraction of the time it took with the old Microsoft operating system. His “renewed PC” comes complete with email, IM, an open source office productivity suite, a browser and home networking.

I wonder how many old PCs there are out there, abandoned for all the same reasons.

Is this a “green” business opportunity? Could someone out there build a business around bringing old PCs back to life as Linux machines? I believe the vast majority of home PCs are used for email, IM and browsing the internet.

In my short experience with Ubuntu (Linux), it seems to fit the bill. Before declaring Ubuntu the “Fountain of Youth” for old Microsoft based PCs, I’ll check back with Dave in a month or so and report on his Linux experience.

Stay tuned.

IdeaStorm Strikes Again!

It has recently been reported that Dell will continue to provide Windows XP to all those Vista non-believers. They are doing this in response to a well supported suggestion on their IdeaStorm forum.

This announcement falls on the heels of Dell’s March announcement to investigate offering Linux as an O/S option for home PCs.

Microsoft Vista marketing folks are putting on a brave face, but it seems like the consumers are finally getting their say! As I recently blogged, my house now has a Dell laptop running Linux. So far, my house is a “Vista free zone” and I intend to keep it that way.

Anyone in Redmond getting scared?

Eating My Own Dog Food

Yesterday, I suggested that CIOs should be constantly running micro experiments. I’ve found it keeps your I.T. employees engaged and growing through lifelong learning and who knows, you might even uncover a big productivity or cost savings opportunity.

After telling YOU to experiment, it suddenly occurred to me that I haven’t been experimenting as much as I should! So I took one of my own recommendations and tried it out.

I decided to install Linux on an old PC. More accurately, I had the Quiet Creek Tech Team (my 15 year old son, Jeff) do it.

The “patient” was a 4 year old Dell laptop (who’s battery gave up recharging long ago). It was (barely) running Microsoft XP and MS Office.

Jeff downloaded Ubuntu to his MAC, (which took 30 minutes) and burned a boot CD (another 30 minutes). The Ubuntu documentation says you can boot Linux from the CD, just to try it out before deciding to install. You also have the option of partitioning your hard drive to allow your legacy O/S to co-exist (Ubuntu does this for you), or you can simply replace your old O/S with Linux.

We tossed the CD into our laptop and after 5 minutes of “playing” we decided to go for broke and install it. We had nothing to lose. We kept the old laptop so Jeff could us MS Word for school projects and even if the entire experiment was a disaster, we had other PCs he could use.

From the time we hit “Install” the process took about 2 hours. We decided to try Linux as the ONLY O/S on the laptop. The Ubuntu version of Linux comes complete with OpenOffice 2.2, Firefox browser, self updating anti-virus software, Email, IM, DVD and Audio players and several games – pretty much all the basics.

Jeff is not a huge fan of documentation, preferring instead to look around and “play”, but for those of you who like to read, Ubuntu comes with decent documentation.

Once installed, with literally 2 clicks of the mouse, our Linux system was attached to our wireless home network and we were using Firefox to surf the net. Ten minutes later, Jeff had the email client configured. The process was surprisingly simple and intuitive.

So after an evening of experimenting, we now have a Linux system up and running. The real test will come over the next few months as we use it for “real world” applications, but so far the results are encouraging. Stay tuned.

Oh, and just for fun, I took a look at a cheap Dell desktop PC ($699). Bundled in the price was Vista Home premium ($111.99) and Works 8.0 ($49.95). At list price, the bundled Microsoft software accounted for 23% of the total price of the machine. And this savings doesn’t include the anit-virus software that you must add.

Any CIOs out there interested in reducing the cost of each and every desktop/laptop by 23% AND eliminating all the licencing headaches that accompany them? Just asking……

3 Experiments to Try Right Now!

Back when I was running an IT department as CIO, I used to encourage mini experiments using new technologies. We did this for several reasons. First, our developers and infrastructure tekkies were always interested in trying new things out. Secondly, allowing some personal time to experiment with new technologies was a great personal development opportunity and (selfishly) a great retention strategy. Thirdly, you never know where that next great idea or breakthrough is going to come from. Without experimentation, you are destined to follow.

So with that entrepreneurial spirit in mind, here’s three experiments I’d have going in my IT department today.

1. Start a wiki. It doesn’t have to involve a lot of people. Just pick a technology or a project and dive in. Learn the social skills of group collaboration on a common document. Find out what works (and what doesn’t). Use any free Wiki software and just get started. Begin with as few rules as possible and dive in.

2. Experiment with a mash-up. It can be anything.. Link your helpdesk system to Google Earth and map when your helpdesk calls are coming from. Do it in real time. Just try it. Then show it to somebody. The perspective you gain will generate more terrific ideas than you can imagine. And the experience will pay off (somehow), down the road. Need inspiration? Check this out..http://www.globalincidentmap.com/home.php

3. If you have an energetic ERP (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JDE) support team, give them IM. Make sure that their business counterparts have it as well. Watch what happens. Trust me, you’ll like it.

These experiments don’t have to be costly or take a lot of time. But make sure you have 3 or more going at any one time. Once the trials are completed, buy some pizza for your team and over lunch, have those involved in the experiments demonstrate the results to your entire team.

Need a fourth experiment?

4. Develop a “Microsoft free” desktop. Download a copy of Linux, install Firefox, OpenOffice 2.0 (or trial any web based application suite – Google, Zoho). Use it in the real world. Chances are, you’ll be able to build a pretty robust suite of applications that might work pretty well for the majority of your users. Think about how much of a current PC’s price is made up of the Microsoft “tax” and you’d be shocked at the potential savings opportunity.

Happy experimenting. Let me know how it all works out!