Australia's first open source desktop
Australia's first open source desktop
Tadpole has released the first notebook computer to offer open source software on the desktop, which it claims to be far more reliable and immune to viruses than Microsoft desktops.
Tadpole will offer Talin notebooks with the Sun Java Desktop System, which is supported by Linux and Solaris.
It has all of the usual features found on a Microsoft desktop, which include a browser, an email client similar to outlook express and office applications, but Laurie Wong, the software business manager for Sun Microsystems said that it is much more robust than Microsoft at 80 percent of the cost.
"The trouble is that our competitors originally planned the desktop to be beneficial purely from the user's perspective, and only thought about the connection the network as an after thought. Our system, however, was build purely for use through the network, so it has been configured to deal with viruses, worms and changes which plague companies so much, such as the recent Sasser worm.
"It is always a massive headache for IT managers when workers take portable computers out of the work place, operate from a different location and then re-connect this information back to the network. Through the use of other desktops, viruses always infiltrate the system. Our desktop, however, erases this problem, allowing workers to use their portable computers with less risk of passing viruses onto the main network.Wong claims that it only takes 2 days to set up the desktop and have it running successfully for a user. He also believes that this development will spark off a new wave of innovation for desktop technology.
Sun Microsystems recently signed a four year contract with the NSW government, which enables government agencies to purchase Sun products without having to undergo their own tendering process, such as this open source software.
Sun is currently in talks with any other large enterprises interested in using this desktop solution too, but these companies cannot be revealed at the moment.
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