Prologue

□
It is 2008, Desktop computers have been
prevalent for over 20 years.
□
Promises have been made by many, and
upheld by few.
◊ Computers making our lives simpler, easier...
◊ Solutions would be readily available to
everyone, not just those with money...
◊ a computer for every home
□
All pr0n would be free
Making the switch to Linux

Saying goodbye to Microsoft

My personal experiences

Jim Noble
Farewell Redmond

I wish thee well

...and by "well" I mean

Malebolge, the 8th
circle of Hell.
Who am I?

□
dc0de - aka Jim Noble (mr.dc0de@gmail.com)
□
First computer in 1977 - TRS-80 Model I
□
With my older brother, started the first BBS in
Connecticut
□
Have worked with IBM 4341, Novell 2 - 4.11, DOS,
Windows 3.1 -> Present, HPUX, and have been, up
until 2007, primarily a windows user, booting Windows,
with a Linux Partition. More certifications than I care to
share...
□
I am by no means a Linux "Expert".
□
I have now switched over to Linux as my primary OS.
I'm still learning.
Why now?

□
I'm tired. I've been doing this for some time
now...
□
I'm Tired of:
◊ Vista and Microsoft's continual $$Update$$ cycle
◊ of the OS crashing
◊ application crashes eating the stability of the
OS...
◊ of too many client applications hogging memory,
cpu, disk, ...you name it.
◊ of paying for software. Really tired of paying...
Why Linux?

□
I've looked at MAC's, and they are cute. But you still
have to pay. And you pay more. and more often. It's
not that I can't afford it, I don't want to pay anymore.
□
For you Apple fanboys, great, I'm glad you love your
gear, for the money you spent, you better love it.
□
Windows? it's been a long hard road. It's kept me
employed for over 15 years. And it will keep me
employed for many years to come. I just won't use it
at home, or as my primary OS on my equipment.
□
I like OpenSource, and I'm a GNU Convert - Free as in
Freedom, Free as in Beer
How I began...

□
I've been playing with linux for many years
◊ Debian
◊ Redhat/Fedora
◊ Mandrake/Mandriva
◊ Lindows/Linspire
◊ and many others...
□
Of course all of the boot ISO linux toolsets,
◊ Backtrack
◊ Knoppix
◊ and others...
My goals

□
Use the existing email systems –
Exchange based
□
Fall back to Office if needed – VMWare
server
□
No data loss
□
Have a better testing/attack platform –
metasploit, nessus, nmap, etc...
□
Not have to pay for Software
Selecting my distro...

□
I wanted a Debian based distro
□
I'm partial to Advanced Package Tool (APT)
(blame MaxieZ)
□
I wanted to have a place to play with security tools
and have access to a solid command line
□
I didn't just want a desktop, I wanted a
workstation.
□
I like Debian, and Ubuntu, and chose to go Ubuntu
◊ It's the #1 distribution according to distrowatch*

*http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major
Before installing...

□
Backup
□
Backup again
□
Contemplate a 2nd hard drive, in the
event you need to switch back for
business reasons
□
I simply used Symantec's BackupExec
System Recovery Software to create an
image of my XP workstation.
□
It's like Ghost, while the OS runs.
My hardware

□
Lenovo ThinkPad T61 □
Bluetooth
□
Type 7664-16U □
Modem
□
T7300(2GHz) □
1Gb Ethernet
□
4GB RAM □
UltraNav
□
120GB 5400rpm HD □
Secure chip
□
14.1in 1440x900 LCD □
Fingerprint reader
□
128MB nVIDIA Quadro □
Intel Turbo Memory
NVS 140M □
6c Li-Ion
□
CDRW/DVDRW □
WinVista Business
□
Intel 802.11agn
Installing Ubuntu

□
The installation of Ubuntu was very easy.

□
Every peripheral worked out of the box, except for the
advanced graphics and the fingerprint reader.

□
For the Graphics, I'm using the NVidia Linux driver
available by installing linux-restricted-modules-generic

□
For the Fingerprint reader, I'm using ThinkFinger
(http://thinkfinger.sourceforge.net)
Replacing Microsoft Office

□
At work, we use Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007
□
* All file formats are in 2000/2003 for compatibility
with our customers
□
* Exchange / Outlook is used for our Email systems
□
* We use Visio 2003/2007 for diagrams
□
I've moved to Open Office - No loss in fidelity
□
For diagrams, I've installed Crossover Office, and
Microsoft Office 2003, Visio 2003, and I've signed up
for an account on Gliffy.com
Gliffy.com – online drag & drop drawing

□
As a 10 year user of Visio, I've switched to Gliffy.com
Email

□
Started with Evolution & the exchange components
□
the exchange connector is unstable, and switched to
IMAP
□
IMAP is solid but it took a little tweaking
□
Still deciding between Thunderbird and Evolution
□
I like the calendar support in Evolution, but the speed
of Thunderbird is enticing
□
Thanks to Scott Dodson, I have Evolution working like a
champ.
My costs

Ubuntu 7.10 $ 0.00

OpenOffice 2.3 $ 0.00
Gliffy – 2yrs $ 45.00
CrossOver Pro $ 69.95
------- ----------
Total $114.95
Comparative Costs

MS Vista Business $139.99

MS Office 2007 Pro $399.99
MS Visio 2007 Pro $419.99
--------- ----------
Total $959.97*

*system instability no extra charge

The Verdict

□
I'm happy.
– I met all of my goals (within reason)
– I'm not paying microsoft for software
– The Operating system and OpenSource software
work better than anticipated and better than
"commercially licensed" software
– I never fell for the Apple/MAC diatribe
□
I'm pissed.
– I didn't do this sooner.
– I didn't listen to many of my friends, sooner.
– I've wasted thousands of dollars of my own money
on software
Last minute details

□
I've recently switched to the x86_64
version of Ubuntu on my laptop
□
I'm fairly happy, I have all 4GB of RAM,
and it runs faster
□
Problems with Java, IcedTea, Macromedia
Flash, and other plug-ins for the browser
still cause me some issue
□
it's faster, faster, better...
Epilogue

□
This entire presentation was created in
Open Office
□
all porn should be free.

To ask me questions or find out more,

email me @
mr.dc0de@gmail.com