2014 – Windows XP Deadline
Its time for a shift. Windows XP, the longtime staple of industries around the world, has a deadline. It will no longer be supported by Microsoft in 2014. Because of this companies will either need to upgrade to Windows 7, or some sort of alternative. Windows 7 costs been 4-6 thousand dollars for a 30 license pack. If your company has thousands of computer this is a whole lot of money. Why not switch to Linux, it is free. Is free bad? Is free not good? There are many people that do not like free, which is just strange. Not liking Ubuntu is like someone coming up to you and saying “here take this for free”, and you saying “no thanks I don’t want it”. What a strange notion that Linux is not liked by millions.
Ubuntu can replace the standard workstation. There are some thinks holding back the switch. The main thing is applications that require .net framework. Its really messed up that there is no support for .net framework in Linux. Using Wine .net framework can easily be installed, especially with Wine tricks, but using programs that depend on its functionality is another story. Various frontends to database applications use .net to access the server. Is there an alternative application, made by the company, that does not depend on .net? If your company has thousands of computers, and you can save over a million dollars just in Windows 7 license fees, is it not worth investigating? You’d be surprised there are many companies out there that would rather spend the million dollars than investigate if implementing an alternative is possible.