blog.radsy.com

I’m deperately trying to move to Linux full time. I want to, believe me. But I’m a software guy, I work for a big company and there are certain things I need that, as far as I can tell, I just can’t do under Linux. It’s largely not Linux’s fault, more that the vendors don’t have good support for Linux. Nonetheless, here are my biggest issues:
- VPN. I access my work network through a VPN, using NetScreen-Remote. Work won’t change their infrastructure to suit me, so I have to work with what they’ve got. I’m not a VPN expert, so I’m not sure how proprietary it is. If work is using VPN software from a specific vendor, must I use that vendor’s VPN software? No VPN, no Ubuntu. Simple as that.
- Rational Rose. Now, IBM list a Linux version of this, so it might be doable. Will see if I can get my hands on it, but without Rose I’m screwed as our software is model-driven and we’re currently tied to Rose. I could run it under QEMU, but it’s then sandboxed in its own little read-only image right? And the QEMU VM can’t access the host filesystem, right? What about WINE?
- Outlook/iPAQ: I’ve been using Outlook for years. Now with my work IMAP account it’s no problem moving to Evolution, but for my home POP3 accounts, I would need to convert my .PST files to something readable by Evolution. Apparently this can be done by going through Thunderbird in XP first, then exporting an Evolution-compatible file, but I’ll need to look more closely. Of greater concern is the iPAQ (Windows Mobile 5) synchronisation. The only open source project I’ve found is SynCE, but that looks like it’s no longer being maintained. If I can’t sync with my iPAQ, I have to keep Outlook. If I have to keep Outlook, I have to run XP. it’s a Ubuntu-killer for me. Some will say “dual-boot” or “install Linux on your iPAQ” but I organise my whole life in my PIM and I have it running all the time for reminders, task management etc. I’ll be buggered if I’m going to boot in and out of Linux just to check my calendar, and I bet I can’t sync the iPAQ to Outlook within a QEMU or WINE VM. (Worth a try though). To the second, as soon as TomTom release a Linux-compatible build, I might look at that. Until then, I need my satnav on my iPAQ.
- WoW. Maybe in WINE or Cedega. Will try it out.
- Premiere and 3dsMax. Not a real killer, as I’d be happy to dual-boot into XP to do my video editing and modelling. Is there a decent NLE or 3D package for Linux? I’m very used to these two though. No biggie.
- Webcams and Macromedia Breeze. Should be OK, as I think Breeze runs in the Flash player, which has been ported to Linux. We videoconference a lot.
- Is there a Linux version of EAGLE and MPLAB? No biggie I guess, can dual boot for my circuit and microprocessor design, but might be nice.
So that’s it. That’s pretty much all that’s standing in my way. Not much, but it’s serious enough to scuttle my move to Ubuntu if can’t be solved. What do you think?