[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Client software and Windows 8

[Lazar, Alexey Vladimirovich]

On Nov 5, 2012, at 20:10 , David Busby wrote:

> Could this be an opportunity for the Linux client to become what replaces the current Windows XP,V,7 installations when their time comes?  Linux based staff clients could be used to upgrade, could possibly even re-purpose some hardware.

I certainly would hope it is an opportunity. It's possible. The MS momentum (or inertia) is certainly strong though, so I'm not holding my breath. Whether or not libraries would be willing to seriously consider GNU/Linux-based operating systems for desktop software, probably depends on what other Windows-based software they are locked into, not just the ILS. And then there is the cost of change, which may be perceived as higher than that of MS licensing. I think any growth of library adoption of Linux we could observe would likely come in the form of Android on tablets, not not so much from Ubuntu on desktops.

However, I think if the Evergreen staff client was available through native repositories of a few top Linux distributions, that would be a worthy goal.

> 
> Did you all know that the Evergrenn staff client is functional from a Raspberry Pi A (that's 700MHz ARM w/256M RAM).  I've got a picture from my phone:
> http://demo.ils.edoceo.com/images/raspberry-berry.png  - that's a staff-client on a $35 computer.
> 
> It runs a bit faster from a model B.

This is quite amazing, actually, but in terms of practical use in libraries, how would it get used? Evergreen appliance?  

> On Mon, Nov 5, 2012 at 9:38 AM, Lazar, Alexey Vladimirovich <alexey.lazar at mnsu.edu> wrote:
> Hello.
> 
> I got a chance to test client versions 2.0.12 and 2.2.2 on Windows 8. They installed fine and I was able to connect to servers with no problems. The staff client interface seemed to function properly, however, I did not perform much in-depth testing.
> 
> And now a bit off-topic. I generally do not follow Windows development very closely, so there could be many amazing "under-the-hood" improvements to Windows 8 that I am not aware of. That said, after spending a few hours with Windows 8, I would basically describe it as dumbed-down Windows 7 with significant usability issues. For example, when using previous versions of Windows, I could access all the programs and settings I needed from a single interface. With Windows 8, I had to switch between the "idiocracy" interface and the "normal" Windows interface to accomplish what I needed. That's just one example of a Windows 8 "feature" that made it more time-consuming to accomplish what I needed.
> 
> I don't want to get into writing a full Windows 8 critique here, but for what it's worth and based on my first impressions my advice to fellow Evergreeners and libraries would be to not rush upgrading to Windows 8 without careful evaluation. The most significant changes that I encountered with Windows 8 so far seem to be geared towards consumer use and Microsoft's desire to compete with iOS and Android in that arena. That may be exactly what you need, but it is possible that these features will just get in the way.
> 
> Aleksey
> 
> On Oct 26, 2012, at 14:13 , Tony Bandy wrote:
> 
> > Hello everyone,
> >
> > Please pardon any duplications, but wanted to let everyone know that so far, I've installed the client software (2.1.1) on my new Windows 8 Pro box and client is working with no issues so far.  I didn't think there should be too many, but in case anyone was wondering....now if I can just figure out how to get to my desktop, I'm good!
> >
> > Tony
> >
> > *******************************************
> > Tony Bandy
> > tonyb at ohionet.org
> > OHIONET
> > 1500 West Lane Ave.
> > Columbus, OH  43221-3975
> > 1-800-686-8975 x19
> > ********************************************
> >
> >
> 
> 
> Alexey Lazar
> PALS
> Information System Developer and Integrator
> 507-389-2907
> http://www.mnpals.org/
> 
> 


Alexey Lazar
PALS
Information System Developer and Integrator
507-389-2907
http://www.mnpals.org/