April 4, 2006

About Linux, "Ramon is wrong", a reader says

About two weeks ago, I posted an article about WHY Linux is NOT for small businesses. This was based on an up-close observation I had of Linux in action. Well one of my ardent Linux supporting readers (in Puerto Rico) wrote a reply, which, with his permission I'm posting.

When you consider a small business, as they are starting out, money is a key factor.

The amount of money that a small business can spend on software, especially Microsoft software, can be quite a lot. When you consider the open-source model and all the software that is available, it offers a much more cost effective alternative.

In terms of compatibility with other companies, even if the small business runs Linux and open-source software, they might have one computer that runs Microsoft products and check things with that computer before sending it out. However, it all depends on the type of small business and how their products or services affects others.

In terms of Powerpoint, I don't know why the company you were writing about didn't "pack and go" the presentation so that it can run on any computer, software independent. I still believe that Linux is the way to go for the future and the amount of people that are joining that side is rapidly increasing. Even as one of your other articles about Microsoft explains the shift over to online services rather than desktop software, I believe Linux will play a greater role in the workaday world.

By the way, I also noticed that you mentioned Mozilla Thunderbird in one of your articles. I thought I would let you know about the portable version of Mozilla Thunderbird. I am using it because you can download it and install it on your thumb drive. Then you can take it wherever you go and run it straight from your thumb drive. You can keep all your contacts with you, email and other things. There are other portable applications like Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Sunbird and even OpenOffice. You can check out portableapps.com for more info. It really is a great thing and maybe good for small businesses that need to take things with them when they travel.

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