Running a SOHO on Linux and FOSS
Howard Fosdick produced an excellent article on DesktopLinux.com titled Running a business on desktop Linux. The article compares the details of running a small office on Linux software vs Microsoft Windows based software, and although you can easily determine that Howard is a die-hard Linux convert there is a noticeable objective aspect in the article.
The article defines the basic requirements that non-tech savvie users would typically require from a pc for their normal everyday use and outlines the pros and cons of satisfying these requirements on a typical Windows platform vs that of a Ubuntu installation.
There are one or two points in the article I disagree with (not all aging Linux versions provide support ad infinitum, just like Windows) but overall it serves as a fantastic starting point for non technical computer users that would like evaluate alternatives, or who would like to cut operating costs and downtime losses stemming from their computer infrastructure and software. It does point out one or two negatives of the current FOSS landscape (most notably Microsoft Office document interoperability) which newbies would be wise to take note of.
Given the continuous upgrade cycle (hardware and software) required to run the latest and greatest Microsoft software there is a very strong case for evaluating Linux and FOSS software, but the Linux landscape is extremely confusing for the non technical end user. Using Ubuntu Linux as a reference point in the article makes a lot of sense and is probably the best advice to give to newcomers.
There are a myriad of references to other pieces from within the article providing tons of additional information that will benefit the inquiring user tremendously, and overall its a great, well thought through and well written article that will help to promote the use of Linux and free/open source software.
