[WLUG] The End of XP an Opportunity for Linux?

[Carl T. Miller]

Chris Baty wrote:
> Hi guys,
> Through ironic circumstances I've become the IT Coordinator of a
> moderately
> sized Ann Arbor non-profit.  Our backbone is a Windows 2008 Server (lucky
> me) but our staff accesses it, via Remote Desktop, through a bunch of old
> XP machines.  Now that XP is no longer supported by Microsoft I'm
> seriously
> thinking about installing Kubuntu (because of it's similarity to Windows,
> low cost and resistance to viruses) on our old XP machines.
>
> Has any one had a similar decision?

I have seen libraries make similar decisions.  The big
question is what do people do on these systems?  They
may require proprietary software or use websites that
only work on IE.  Also consider that they may use them
for personal reasons (sharing photos of family, etc.)
in addition to the intended usage.

I'd suggest doing a quick survey before replacing the
workstations, then setting up a test machine with a
good volunteer.  When it appears you have a good setup,
start using it on a few more workstations, again picking
people who will likely learn the new system quickly.  If
your feedback is good, then plan to replace them all.

For the server, I'd get a list of services they use
and figure out which ones can be implemented on a VPS
for testing.  That will make it easier for the day
you decide to format the hard drives.  I'd also
suggest using dd or clonezilla to make a backup of
the hard drive prior to installing Linux.  This
covers you if you need to roll back or if you need
to later recover a file or two.

c