| As a business consultant, web designer and | | | | administration every 6-9 months. Administration items |
| photographer my technical know-how around doing | | | | applied during these visits included upgrades to Open |
| system administration on my Microsoft desktop is | | | | Office (the open source version of Star Office), |
| limited and sometimes I do require the assistant of | | | | Linux OS fixes and new peripheral drivers. This, again, |
| my computer engineering son to get it right. In a | | | | turned out to be a drain on my scarce time for doing |
| Microsoft Environment, keeping updated with respect | | | | real business. |
| to potential security breaches and patches is a | | | | Now the Linux called Ubuntu is installed on my |
| constant vigil. The rigor of keeping current with OS | | | | notebook. Ubuntu by Canonical is a full Open Source |
| updates, Norton updates and Spyware updates is | | | | Linux based on Debian Linux. Ubuntu is now available |
| time consuming. Valuable business hours each week | | | | on Dell systems and Federal Governments are adding |
| are spend and lost on this task of self-administration | | | | this Linux operating environment to their list of |
| dictated by the Microsoft Operating Environment. | | | | standard available OS's for all desktop and notebook |
| So with the purchase of an IBM T40 (a tough | | | | computers. |
| notebook), increasing system administration time was | | | | Right out of the gate, Ubuntu was simple to install. |
| not an option. This alone forced an serious | | | | You could even bring down a trial copy to experience |
| consideration of Linux as an alternative operating | | | | exactly how it would behave on your notebook |
| environment. That was five years ago. Now an | | | | before downloading and committing the Ubuntu OS |
| established Linux user, I can clearly profess the | | | | environment to your machine. But the best part is |
| capabilities and benefits of Linux for small and large | | | | that Ubuntu continuously keeps on top of OS and all |
| businesses, especially, when it comes to notebook | | | | related application software updates. Ubuntu has an |
| deployment. | | | | Update Manager that magically appears in desktop |
| What Linux variant is best for small business and | | | | tool bar. And with a simple click (and password) you |
| notebook deployment in your company? | | | | are kept current on the latest versions of Ubuntu |
| As a small and medium business development | | | | patches, any Linux application software you have |
| manager with Sun Microsystems, exposure to Linux | | | | installed from Canonical and Open Office upgrades. |
| and the debate around its viability was a daily event. | | | | With Linux rebooting your machine after an update is |
| Questioning and challenging the virtues of Open | | | | nearly non-existent. |
| Source (FREE) Linux versus Licensed Linux versions | | | | Oh, as an added treat with Ubuntu, Ubuntu boots up |
| like Red Hat and Novell SuSE continues to this day . | | | | on your machine in less than a minute. I still go get a |
| After years of personal use of Open Source (Free) | | | | coffee when my Microsoft desktop is booting up. An |
| Linux, I can never go back to running the Microsoft | | | | additional benefit of Ubuntu: there is no requirement |
| Operating Environment on my notebook. And once | | | | for installing ant-virus and anti-spyware software. |
| you can get Linux versions of Quick books, Quick | | | | Ubuntu inherently repels these vial scourges of the |
| Tax and Picasa (now available on Linux), there is no | | | | internet. |
| reason to stay in that perpetual administrative | | | | With Ubuntu your system administration life will |
| nightmare world of Microsoft. | | | | become simple and painless. You can spend more |
| Having successfully deployed two Open Source Linux | | | | quality business hours selling and marketing. |
| variants on my IBM T40 notebook over the last 5 | | | | Want to cut hidden costs in your organization that |
| years, a compelling comparison can be made | | | | manifest themselves as Microsoft self-administration |
| between Fedora and Ubuntu. Fedora, the Open | | | | by your end users? |
| Source version of Red Hat, required the installation | | | | Ubuntu is a must for you or your IT folks to |
| expertise of some Linux gurus from Belleville Ontario. | | | | consider. Seriously consider, test and deploy. |
| It worked fine, but required some Linux ninja system | | | | |