Do You Get a UNIX Workstation at Work?

Fished asks: "This may be a selfish question, but so far as I can tell it hasn't been asked before. I'm currently a Solaris System Engineer in a Very Large Company. This Very Large Company has predictably standardized on Windows as their corporate desktop. However, they are also of the opinion that nobody needs anything -but- Windows on their desktop. If you're a UNIX/Linux systems engineer/administrator in a large company, do they give you a desktop for the platform you manage? Do you have any tips on justifying your need for a second, UNIX-based desktop to the powers that be?"

"While Windows may be a truth for most employees, as a System Engineer I find that my productivity is much lower when I am forced to use Windows on my desktop. I spend way too much time overcoming the ways in which Windows is just different from UNIX, and not enough time getting my job done. Loading Solaris X86 is not an option, since we are required to use a bunch of software that is Windows only (much of it sloppily written, IE only internal websites, with fun things like ActiveX controls.) VmWare works, but is certainly less than ideal."

Does Linux Count?

[bheer]

Google, HP, Oracle, Sun, IBM -- all use Linux desktops at work. But if IT is unwilling to make a special case and allow you a Linux desktop, just get PuTTY, run it full-screen, you won't even know you're on Windows. There are even some X emulators for Windows (Hummingbird?) but it's been a while since I used any and <elitist>the command line is all you need anyway</elitist>.

So ask for two Windows machines

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

and reboot one of them with Knoppix in the CD drive.

Viable alternatives (requires admin access,)

[WetCat]

Install http://www.colinux.org/> or http://www.virtualbox.com/>

Odd

[WindBourne]

I am a *nix guy. But about 2-3 years ago, I was forced on a windows workstation (the last prior to that was a BRAND new OS called win95). I have tried Exceed and found it flaky and just so-so. OTH, I currently run cygwin and have NO intention of ever going back to hummingbird. Cygwin has been rock solid. Now there are times where it is SLOW. In addition, it has issues when I move the laptop to a docking station, move to monster monitor, start cygwin, then move back to the smaller res (it stops and waits). But the way around that is to run it in normal windows mode (which I will not do). My only complaints about cygwin is that things like link does not work correcly and the io speed SUX BIG TIME.

Re:Does Linux Count?

[Anonymous Coward]

I have to wonder if you actually have run both of these before.

Exceed is a total dog on system resources and is MUCH slower than Cygwin's port of xorg. OpenGL is avaliable. It crashes frequently on all of the machines I run it on (I have quite a bit of incoming connections, this seems to really make it unstable).

Even xwin32 is a breeze compared to the pile of horseshit that Exceed is.

Re:I guess I have to ask

[vogon jeltz]

If you connect to another computer remotely, it doesn't really matter whether your system is windows or *nix. Under *nix you use ssh, under win you use putty. For graphics you use Exceed or xming under win, xdmcp under *nix.
Lots of people don't know a VERY handy tool called "screen" ("man screen") which is available for most any *nix. You log onto a *nix box (be it via ssh or putty) and start screen. Screen allows you to easily open, and switch between as many shell instances you need/want. Check it out, it's great for remote administration!

Re:Does Linux Count?

[allenw]

Sun employees generally get Solaris as a desktop via SunRay. The folks who install Linux, in general, are a) working on cross-platform products and b) do it outside IT's support services.