Ubuntu Linux is Prime Time for Your Business Desktop and Notebook Computing Environment

As a business consultant, web designer and photographer my technical know-how around doing system administration on my Microsoft desktop is limited and sometimes I do require the assistant of my computer engineering son to get it right. In a Microsoft Environment, keeping updated with respect to potential security breaches and patches is a constant vigil. The rigor of keeping current with OS updates, Norton updates and Spyware updates is time consuming. Valuable business hours each week are spend and lost on this task of self-administration dictated by the Microsoft Operating Environment.

So with the purchase of an IBM T40 (a tough notebook), increasing system administration time was not an option. This alone forced an serious consideration of Linux as an alternative operating environment. That was five years ago. Now an established Linux user, I can clearly profess the capabilities and benefits of Linux for small and large businesses, especially, when it comes to notebook deployment.

What Linux variant is best for small business and notebook deployment in your company?

As a small and medium business development manager with Sun Microsystems, exposure to Linux and the debate around its viability was a daily event. Questioning and challenging the virtues of Open Source (FREE) Linux versus Licensed Linux versions like Red Hat and Novell SuSE continues to this day . After years of personal use of Open Source (Free) Linux, I can never go back to running the Microsoft Operating Environment on my notebook. And once you can get Linux versions of Quick books, Quick Tax and Picasa (now available on Linux), there is no reason to stay in that perpetual administrative nightmare world of Microsoft.

Having successfully deployed two Open Source Linux variants on my IBM T40 notebook over the last 5 years, a compelling comparison can be made between Fedora and  Ubuntu . Fedora, the Open Source version of Red Hat, required the installation expertise of some Linux gurus from Belleville Ontario. It worked fine, but required some Linux ninja system administration every 6-9 months. Administration items applied during these visits included upgrades to Open Office (the open source version of Star Office), Linux OS fixes and new peripheral drivers. This, again, turned out to be a drain on my scarce time for doing real business.

Now the Linux called  Ubuntu  is installed on my notebook.  Ubuntu  by Canonical is a full Open Source Linux based on Debian Linux.  Ubuntu  is now available on Dell systems and Federal Governments are adding this Linux operating environment to their list of standard available OS's for all desktop and notebook computers.

Right out of the gate,  Ubuntu  was simple to install. You could even bring down a trial copy to experience exactly how it would behave on your notebook before downloading and committing the  Ubuntu  OS environment to your machine. But the best part is that  Ubuntu  continuously keeps on top of OS and all related application software updates.  Ubuntu  has an Update Manager that magically appears in desktop tool bar. And with a simple click (and password) you are kept current on the latest versions of  Ubuntu  patches, any Linux application software you have installed from Canonical and Open Office upgrades.

With Linux rebooting your machine after an update is nearly non-existent.

Oh, as an added treat with  Ubuntu ,  Ubuntu  boots up on your machine in less than a minute. I still go get a coffee when my Microsoft desktop is booting up. An additional benefit of  Ubuntu : there is no requirement for installing ant-virus and anti-spyware software.  Ubuntu  inherently repels these vial scourges of the internet.

Source by Carl Chesal