IBM goes silent on Linux desktop effort

"We don't have anything we want to say that's definitive," ... as she declined to comment on specifics of the roll-out. "There are people using Linux and nobody is telling them to stop,".

Wow, what an endorsement of their Linux objectives! The only thing missing is that nobody is asking them to stop using LInux this week, for next week - who knows?

Actually, this is the best approach to get their employees to adopt Linux. They give them the liberty and freedom to move to Linux and on their own pace without applying any pressure. Whoever is willing and able to move to Linux, they will do that willingly and they will get rewarded with self accomplishment. Many people are rebelious, especially technical staff, and probably will not go along if they were pressured. Some people are so convinced that MS is best for them and might fight back. But when they see many others already moved and happy, they will follow. There are many other reason why this approach is best, but I leave it to you as an exercise to find them. I think your suspicions are unfounded

You read too much into my message.

Simple: you do not make over blown claims and then back off to what is best a neutral stance. Yes, force is counter productive, but that route should have been taken first. This is just too similar to the grandiose claims made by Sun on opening Solaris before thinking through the problems and consequences.

If are not going to have a schedule do not give a completion date - simple?

They did make a big deal out of it back when it was first announced. I imagine the harsh realities of migration have set in, such as:

-all those archives of MS Office docs -MS Office users with large libraries of custom macros who are understandably loathe to start over in something else -web apps based on IE (aptly pronounced aieeeee) -important apps that do not run on Linux, or have a suitable F/OSS relative

I wonder what prompted this article? It's not a press release, and it doesn't seem like there was a precipitating event. I wish they had said something like "we're still committed to it, it's more difficult that we thought, but we're moving ahead."

Latest message from IBM:

Linux Is Ready!

Errr, maybe not.



Personally, I think it really inspires confidence...

Actually, IBM is definitely still pushing Linux just as much as ever. I personally thought their initial roll-out timeline for the Linux Desktop project was very ambitious anyway, but the fact that they have so many deployments already is still notable. And while the majority of current deployments are with the more tech-savvy folks, I have personally seen quite a few sales reps and product managers in the field using Linux on their notebooks. So, while they may be a little behind schedule, I still give them kudos for the continued effort. And lots of respect for practicing what they preach!

-Tool