FOSS Cost
Open Source software has found its way into many home and business offices. Many have found this free software just as applicable as their commercial counterparts. The look, feel and functionality of these applications makes them an ideal choice for almost any home and professional environments. Needless to say, some of us use Linux everyday and don't even know it. For instance, your Tivo, or how about your Nokia, Motorola mobile devices. Have you done a google search lately? How about your local AutoZone? Their parts database runs on Redhat. Burlington Coat Factory, Ernie Ball Inc., Panasonic, Tommy Hilfiger, Toyota, U.S. Army, U.S. Federal Courts, U.S. Postal Service, Dell is selling Ubuntu on their laptop and desktop computers. Here is a reference for the above. Do not let anyone tell you Open Source is not a viable alternative.
Ubuntu
I have been using Ubuntu since the second release 5.04. Since then I have NOT needed to use Window$ (Except for repairing them). Basically, Ubuntu has met my needs for all aspects of my computing. The way the Linux kernel is designed with user permissions prevents all types of viruses and spyware from getting onto your computer system. There is just so much more to get done when you do not have to run a bunch of virus and spyware scanners everytime you get done surfing the Internet.
Linux
I have been a Linux user since 1999. I have used many different distributions.
Linux Distros I have used:
FOSS SOHO
One thing I have been keeping my eye on is the Open Source software for small and home businesses. Lately some really great projects have surfaced. To start off my list I would like to introduce you to OpenProj. It is a free open source desktop project management software. Comparable to some high dollar proprietary project management software. This is a great application for the up and coming SOHO. It has received some great reviews and has a good list of professional businesses who use it. When it comes to finance, there are a couple of great applications that come to mind. There is only one that I will mention right now and that would be GnuCash. This software has been around for a while and has really great functionality. With the ability to import data files from it's expensive proprietary counterparts. This is my choice for finance software in my personal business. My all-time favorite when it comes to spreadsheets has been Gnumeric. This little application has the ability to open and save to proprietary formats. Such as the ones we are all familiar with in most businesses. It is nice and lite and easy on your computer resources. Word processing. The one application that anyone with a computer has used once or twice. I have found a good selection of great open source word processors, but I think I am only going to only mention Abiword right now. Since this is an application that is found most on any computer, I was looking for one that could save files to many different formats. Formats such as .doc, .rtf, .pdf, .txt, .html. Not only does this application save to these formats, but many other obscure formats also. During my days of working in small businesses, there have been days that I wished this program was available. What I am talking about is PDFedit. The name pretty much says it all. Many times I could of used this to fill out online forms and applications I had to work with a few years back. At the time no one had a free version of a PDF editor.