My thoughts on why businesses and individuals need to start thinking about switching away from proprietary (and high maintenance) software like Windows, and look at open source and free software instead like GNU/Linux. All articles are based on real world and everyday experiences with Windows and GNU/Linux, for both business and personal use.
I have been a systems administrator of both Windows and Linux systems for over 15 years, in a wide variety of environments ranging from educational institutions to large enterprises. Throughout the years running Linux and Windows side by side, I have seen Linux countless times surpass Windows in performance, reliability, cost savings, and more recently user experience. In 2008 I successfully migrated all of my personal machines from Windows XP to Fedora Linux after seeing Linux succeed for many years for businesses, and have worked with family and friends to help them migrate as well. The experience has been astounding. The power of Linux and open source software is one that cannot be ignored by businesses or individuals, and has been making waves in the world of proprietary software and Microsoft. From multiple frustrations of using Microsoft products and seeing open source products excel over them, I have drawn an interest in writing more and doing research about the two and their vast differences.
Recently I've been involved with a migration from one Exchange 2010 server to another, and the project is still ongoing at the moment. I've written before about how overly complicated Exchange is, when compared to other open source mail server alternatives.
Recently I posted a blog entry on a digital signage rollout that has had its issues. Mainly, I point my finger at the Windows operating system for the most part.
Linux for education is a great win, for all PC users. I have read about schools making the move to open source and Linux in the classroom, with countless success stories.
Yesterday news came out that Microsoft is boasting about a total of 10 patent deals being signed so far, with Android phone manufacturers. In case you haven't been following these so-called "patent deals", Microsoft has been keeping a long list of Android manufacturers and has been checking off one by one on its list to keep Google's Android phones from continuing their dominance of the mobile phone market.
It's been about three years, since I finally migrated all of my personal PCs for my immediate family from Windows XP to Fedora Linux. I had used it for many years previous to that, but I had held off on migrating all of my PCs permanently because of issues with getting apps to work in Wine, and problems finding apps to replace proprietary ones I had used up to that point.
About a year ago, I was involved with a project to set up video signage. The project involved 6 displays, each to display its own content.
It's no doubt that one of the leaders for network equipment is Cisco Systems. Newer Cisco devices are starting to use what Cisco calls its "IOS-XE" operating system, which is a customized flavor of GNU/Linux.
I am constantly documenting all sorts of things on my computer, and recently I decided it was time to figure out what to use in Linux that will allow easy screenshot capturing which is essential for good documentation. I have used the "Snipping Tool" in Windows 7 which is a good and flexible application.
Software that just doesn't work out of the box, is very frustrating. I probably spend countless hours per year, wasting away time by going in circles, due to software that just doesn't work as advertised.
Microsoft has a large advantage in its quest to go after and collect royalties from those that it deems necessary as a direct threat. Microsoft has risen up with full force against Android, just after Windows Phone 7 started to appear.