Sigh... possibly having to go back to Windows...

[faulkner132]

I'm seriously considering moving back to Windows as my home OS. As you may know I am a HUGE supporter and advocate of Linux, but due to some programs not being able to run on Linux and having to run 2 computers to do what I need to I don't see a need to run Linux as my primary OS.

Just to elaborate on a few points:
My wife and I use Quicken (we use the Home & Business version which is only available on Windows) to run our personal finances along with our 3 businesses and when combined with TurboTax makes year end taxes extremely easy. Of course Quicken doesn't run on Linux, neither does TurboTax. This said, last year I started using the excellent GNU-Cash program. It does everything I need... except for the import into TurboTax. So far I have probably spent 3-4 hours itemizing deductions with no immediate end in site, where with a simple import from Quicken I could be done with my business along with both of hers (which we have not even started yet). This alone is making me seriously consider switching back.

Another convenience I lose is the full functionality of MS-RDP. The Linux client works great, however the single feature I use the most: copy-paste between the host and client is squirrelly at best using the Linux client. Of course it works perfectly in the MS client. I literally use RDP daily from my home computer to connect to my work machine or servers I manage for people (all Windows servers by the way) and this is, sometimes, a major inconvenience.

So in a nutshell, this is what I currently have at home:
1. Primary machine running Ubuntu 6.10 which I use for my personal use... all limited to:
- Internet Browsing
- Music
- Text editing (programming mostly)
- CD/DVD burning
- RDP'ing to either my work machine or managed servers
- BitTorrents

2. Windows machine where all I do is use Quicken and TurboTax, however I use Quicken daily. I also use RDP on my Windows machine when I know I will need to copy-paste extensively.

What would I lose by switching to Windows? Nothing.
- Have a legit copy of XP Pro which I could remove from my 2nd machine and put on my primary
- Internet Browsing (already using Firefox)
- Music (Would have to go from amaroK to Winamp, which I like both programs)
- Text editing (JEdit is cross-platform)
- CD/DVD burning (I have a legit copy of Nero which I have never installed), but for stuff like DVD ripping and converting our TV series on DVD to AVI files (which I do occasionally), I could use Linux on my 2nd machine.
- I have a licensed copy of Office XP Pro which I have not used
- RDP'ing (actually gain functionality)
- BitTorrents (Azureus is cross-platform)

When I look at objectively, I see no reason to stay with Linux as my primary OS. Now I would really hate to become a meat eating vegetarian, that is someone who advocates Linux but runs Windows as their primary OS (I would still have a Linux box to do the DVD stuff and for server/backup purposes). I still absolutely LOVE Linux and would pick over Windows any day IF it ran Quicken and TurboTax, but I don't see any reason to continue to use 2 systems daily when I could use just one...

I'm torn... I really am...

I would really appreciate any opinions people have...
Thanks.

[glc]

This is why Linux is still primarily a hobbyist's operating system. Until more software is written for it, it will not be a truly viable desktop in the business world.

I assume there is no Turbotax equivalent yet?

[faulkner132]

Originally Posted by glc I assume there is no Turbotax equivalent yet?

No, TurboTax is Windows/Mac only. I doubt there will ever be an open source equivalent because it is updated each year with the new tax law and tables. This would require a significant amount of work.

Originally Posted by glc This is why Linux is still primarily a hobbyist's operating system. Until more software is written for it, it will not be a truly viable desktop in the business world.

I completely agree... I would never suggest Linux for a typical office PC, but it fits my needs (and budget) perfectly. If only it ran Quicken and TurboTax...

[kilgoretrout]

I believe turbotax and quiciken both will run with crossover office:

http://www.codeweavers.com/

They have a free trial version you can download and see if you can install and run the windows programs you need. I have used crossover office to run the few windows programs I need with great success. It's a user friendly implementation of wine. If you choose to buy it, it's pretty reasonable($40). They just came out with a new version which will even run a few games.
There are other windows emulation systems available for linux like Paralells and VMWare which allow you to run a virtual windows install from within linux. Parallels is the cheaper one and they have a trial version as well:

http://www.parallels.com/

You do a virtual winxp or win2k install on linux and install whatever you want on that virtual windows. Everything but directx/games runs very well on these. Paralells also makes a mac version which runs on the new intel macs.
These are great solutions to run those few windows apps you need.

[faulkner132]

This is the response on Code Weavers regarding Quicken 2004 (I am using Quicken 2007).

This application installs, and runs well enough to be usable. However we find it has enough bugs to prevent it from running flawlessly.

Additionally I don't want to run Windows in an emulator... this is essentially the same as running the two system like I am (I use a KVM to switch between the two) and leaves the door open for additional bugs, and I would have to pay for the solution (kinda defeats the purpose of running Linux). Plus when I do a distro upgrade I would have to reinstall the VM software and I'm not sure if that means an additional fee.

It's a great suggestion, but I would rather stick with a guaranteed and supported solution in the event I ever need to call on Intuit support.

[telegramsam]

I've never been as dependant on Linux as I would have liked to be. The truth is, you just can't...YET. I feel for ya.

At some point, I imagine most things will be platform independant. I think that day is a ways off yet.

I still keep Ubuntu because I'm so infatuated with the Open Source philosophy. Not that I have a problem with people making money for their work...just like the whole Ubuntu thing.

[kilgoretrout]

Given your requirements, linux is not a good fit for you. Most people don't have those requirements, i.e. most people don't absolutely need to run quicken, turbotax and rdp to remote windows boxes and perform cut and paste operations. For most people, linux is more than adequate.

This is why Linux is still primarily a hobbyist's operating system. Until more software is written for it, it will not be a truly viable desktop in the business world.

I don't understand this comment at all. The amount of software written for linux is huge. This indicates a person who has run windows so long that changing from their favorite software is not an option either because of habit or vendor lockin. It's really what you've become used. For me, changing to windows is not an option because, among other things, my favorite linux software is not available on that platform. That's what I've become used to. I'm sure the founders of google will be surprised to learn they are running their multibillion dollar business on a hobby operating system.

Given windows brain dead security policies, its need for a phalanx of antivirus and anti malware software just to keep it running, all of which must be constantly updated, its exorbitant cost, its ever increasingly oppressive licensing terms and drm, its phone home predilictions, etc, etc, given all these things and more, windows will never be anything more than a toy operating system to me only suitable for running games.

[glc]

That comment smacks of fanboyism - you are at the other extreme of where I appear to be to you.

[faulkner132]

Settle down you two...

kilgore -
From what I have seen, you are probably the most knowledgeable person on these boards when it comes to Linux. Typically I agree with everything you post, but I have to disagree with you on 3 counts here.

First I believe Linux is a perfect for me. Granted I run the newbie friendly Ubuntu variety, but I have done so for a year and half and during that time I can count how many times I booted to Windows on 1 hand. If it were not a good fit for me, there is no way this would be possible. The bottleneck for me is my business ventures, which leads me to my next point...

Once you have spent 6 hours (and counting) retyping data from GNU Cash to TurboTax itemizing deductions when you could have simply selected to the option to import from Quicken, talk to me. When your terminal no longer supports the copy-paste command, talk to me.

Believe me, in no way do I want to go back to Windows. Linux, in my case is faster, easier, and does everything I need. Why would I ever want to leave if it did everything I needed.

As for Linux being a fit for the business world. Seriously, do 2 hours of tech support and you will be singing a different tune. Try explaining how to do something in a terminal to someone who doesn't know what a zip file is, or in my case, finding a program to do your taxes (TurboTax is much better than the online variety).

[Floppyman]

I too was a huge supporter of everything Linux and open source for quite some time (mainly in my teen years) -- until I realized I didn't have time to tinker much anymore, and I needed windows to do certain tasks, and certain apps I needed/wanted just weren't available for Linux. I like linux for a server operating system, whether that would be web serving, file serving, game serving, or all of the above. But for a desktop OS where I just want things to work and quick at that, windows wins out. Setting up and configuring linux the way I really like it as a desktop OS always took time -- and that's not considering the aforementioned fact that certain apps I use aren't available for linux and there are not good open source alternatives available.

For me it basically boils down to this: Considering how much busier I have gotten, the more and more I need a desktop OS that just works and has software available that does what I need it to-- no compatibility issues and bugs. Windows still wins out there (although I'm considering moving to a Mac one of these days, but there again comes up the issue of software). For mission critical tasks such as serving or massive parralel computing, Linux is still my number one choice OS. For those tasks i'll gladly spent the time to set things up properly considering the consequences if something went wrong.

[faulkner132]

For those interested, out of necessity only, I am planning to move back to Windows once I have the $$ to build my mulitmedia server and playback network (all will be Linux based by the way). At this point, my test machine will become a server, so my other machine will have to run my Windows programs. This is probably several months down the road, but for me I think it is a fair compromise.