The good news is that there are free and open-source alternatives for virtually every package a small business might need, and most of them are excellent. Whether or not you’ve already made the switch to Linux — there are, after all, myriad security and other reasons for doing so — these free apps can be just what any small business needs to succeed.

1. Accounting: GnuCash

Small business owners have always to think about a software that can cater to their financial-accounting needs. Avoiding custom-made software for such needs, business owners can think about GnuCash, which is a personal and small-business financial-accounting software package. GnuCash lets you track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. The data can be imported from programs such as Microsoft Money and Quicken; can be exported to spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel.

2. Backup: Amanda

Next big issue for startups and small business owners is the backup of data. Amanda is a wonderful option for backup and recovery of data. It allows you to have single master backup server to back up multiple hosts to a single large-capacity tape or disk drive.

3. HR management: OrangeHRM

HR management is a huge challenge for startups and small business owners. I worked in a health technology startup and I always noticed how mismanaged was the HR department just because of lack of proper software and solutions. OrangeHRM is a free package for human resources management and it offers modules for personnel information management, benefits, recruitment, employee self-service, leave, and time and attendance. Overall, a complete package!

4. E-mail: Zimbra

For small business owners, it is a huge benefit to have an email software available without much cost. Zimbra Desktop is free e-mail and calendar software offering e-mail, contacts, calendar and document capabilities all in one application. Zimbra also allows the users to read e-mail from any POP or IMAP e-mail account, including Gmail, Hotmail or business e-mail. It can be used both offline and online and there is no limit to the size of the email storage capacity. The software is available in 20 languages.

5. Office Productivity: OpenOffice

Without the ability to process word documents, spreadsheets, and prepare presentations, any startup or business would feel cramped for sources. The development will certainly be hampered. While I worked in one of the largest specialty media company, I noticed that the whole office used the best alternative to Microsoft Office–OpenOffice. With this, the organization saved a huge amount of money. The software offers components for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases.

However, I have never encountered Linux or open source as a subject. In fact, it was very late when one of my friends introduced me to Ubuntu, a distro of Linux that I thought of using Linux as an operating system for my computers. You won’t believe the irony of using Windows: I am writing this post using Windows in my office! J

Ubuntu was an instant hit with me as I liked the interface and its ease of usage. I had my personal laptop on double boot where I could choose to run it on Windows or on Ubuntu. Later on, we introduced Ubuntu in our town by distributing CDs on large scale as Canonical was providing original Ubuntu CDs free of cost. In our spirit, we were making the positive virus of open source effective in our area!

Then, the final thought of running a system exclusively on Linux crossed our mind. We were aware of the limitations of various applications and our own limited knowledge to make tweaks wherever required. The opportunity came when I had to get a new desktop for my home where my niece could learn computers and also I could use it whenever I feel like. I got an assembled hardware of the finest quality and the optimized processor and RAM etc. The vendor gave us the hardware and we sat to configure it to run in exclusively on Ubuntu. We did it.

It has been around 3 years since that system is running exclusively on Ubuntu. My niece has used it for learning tools, games, etc through Edubuntu. My father has used it to surf internet through Mozilla Firefox. My whole family used to voice-chat with me using Skype when I was doing my job away. At the same time, I have used it whenever I felt like bored from Windows and wanted a new interface.

Overall, Linux does not suck as it helps me avoid using pirated version of Windows and also not pay to buy original ones.

Some limitations of using Linux exclusively on my desktop:

1. I got married and my wife finds it difficult to use it. She is not an expert in computers and whatever she know, she learned it on Windows. It will take some time to her to get used to it.
2. I am not able to tweak it if we want to use some special fonts that can write in our regional language.
3. I can’t download iTuned to get free podcasts available from various sources.

Ubuntu, a champion of open-source technology offers some hope. With the usage of Ubuntu cloud system, the IT department can bring the changes without any need to make upfront investments in hardware or software. Some points to consider:

Zero Licence fees

There is no licence fee involved with Ubuntu Server, as it is free to use, reuse and redistribute. There is no licence restrictions also, which gives you the option of expanding your IT systems without the expense of acquiring additional licences.

Pay per use

Ubuntu cloud computing allow the users to avoid worry about hardware maintenance, depreciation and capital costs by opting for public cloud option. This has helped many companies to pay for the computing power they need without spending money on the setup costs.

Optimization of resources

Ubuntu cloud computing allows the users to build a low-cost, industry-leading cloud that helps make the most of existing hardware. This way, companies don’t have to change their hardware when they go through a period of change and growth. This can be realized on the basis of cutting down on the number of physical servers a company needs to purchase, house and maintain.

Source: http://www.ubuntu.com/business/cloud/reduce-costs

Ubuntu One

When it comes to Ubuntu, Ubuntu One is the most noted features for backing up an Ubuntu system. Ubuntu One was released with the latest release of Ubuntu (10.10) and offers 2GB of online storage for Ubuntu users, for free. If you need more space, then you need pay for the extra storage you want.

When it comes to the technology and workflow, Ubuntu One works the same way as Dropbox. You have a client which communicates with a server, hosting your online storage. The client is integrated to the file management software of the OS and the client keeps all the documents synced with the online storage. Therefore, your online storage is as same as your local files. In case if something destructive happens, you lose no data.

Ubuntu One is offered by Canonical, the same people who develop Ubuntu. Therefore, you do not have to keep any doubt in your mind regarding the security of your online storage.

Dropbox

Dropbox is the tools which made online backups so easy and popular. Dropbox is available for all major platforms, including Linux. If you are a basic user, you can have 2GB of online storage for your data, for free. In case you introduce your friends to Dropbox, you will get additional 250MB for every referral.

Unless you only backup the important files or yours, 2GB storage is not quite enough to backup all what you need to backup. In this case, you can buy the additional storage for a little price from Dropbox. This way, you can easily backup your music or movie collection in the cloud.

The other advantage of Dropbox is that it can be linked to several computers running different operating systems. If you want to keep some folders properly synced across all the computers, you can do that with Dropbox. This way, you can fully avoid using USB keys to transfer data across computers and you can continue with any of your machines at any time. In case if you want to access your information from a PC that is not linked to your Dropbox account, you can simply access the data you want through web.

Back In Time

Let’s now talk about an offline backup system. Back In Time is one of the popular offline backup tools that can be used for backing up data to another hard drive or a network location.

You can install Back In Time simply by downloading the installation files or through Ubuntu package management tools. Once installed, you can define the directories to be backed up and their frequencies. Since there can be many backup snapshots in the backup directory, you can also define a timeout for the backup snapshots.

When it comes to many offline backup systems, restoring the backup is somewhat complicated task. This is true for some of the most hyped offline backup systems out there. When it comes to Back In Time, this is just a process of a few mouse clicks. Your data gets properly restored at the end of the restoration process. But when compared to the online backup tools, there is a few disadvantages when it comes to the losses. Since online backup systems are real-time, you lose nothing. But you may lose some data in your Ubuntu system when using offline backup tools as backing up frequency is usually not real-time.

Author: Nilanka

Gadget lovers attached to mobile devices and PCs alike have the ever-popular issue of synchronizing contents of the mobile device with that of the PC. Be it music, address book contacts, photos, bookmarked websites etc, the syncing process helps you not to lose any important item residing on your digital companion regardless the circumstances, time and location.

For Apple iPhones however, the manufacturers have made it difficult to sync the iPhone with other third party applications. Despite these constraints, ardent Linux hackers have come up with methods to achieve this particular capability, and impressively in more efficient ways than traditional syncing methods available on Windows mobile and Apple Mac platforms.

The guide below shows the steps required to sync your iPhone/iPod over a wireless network connection with your PC powered by Linux. For explanation purposes, the particular Linux distribution is Ubuntu 8.04 on an iPod. Nevertheless, the steps do not differ drastically for iPhones and other flavors of Linux.

The Syncing Process

Step 1

To start the syncing process one needs to first jailbreak your Apple device. Jailbreaking allows the user to gain complete accessibility to the entire Unix file system, thus enabling him/her to add any application of his/her choice to the Apple device. However, it is important to note that jail-breaking inadvertently makes you lose the warranty you gain with your iDevice. Another important point is to take a backup of your phone before attempting with any of these the nitty-gritty so that you will not lose on everything for being too adventurous!

There are many ways to accomplish the jail-breaking process. This how-to guide explains the jailbreaking process achieved with the use of ZiPhone application.

• First, turn the phone on, go to Settings->General->Auto-Lock.
• Choose Auto-Lock option ‘Never’.

This option prevents the phone from being disconnected during long file transfers.

• ZiPhone installs BSD Subsystem and OpenSSH, two third party applications that you will require to go ahead with the syncing process.
• For iDevices without ZiPhone application, it is possible to get it installed from Installer.app link.
• Run ZiPhone application and follow the on-screen instructions. After the application exits your iDevice will be successfully unlocked.

Step 2

After the jailbreaking process you need to connect your iDevice to the same Wi-Fi network that your PC is connected to. In order to do this on your iPhone, you need to:

• Go to Main Menu->Settings connect to same Wi-Fi Network
• Note down the IP address you receive
• Click on ‘Static’ button to retain your IP address whenever your iDevice connects to the network
• Then go to Main Menu->Settings->General->Auto Lock
• Choose option ‘Never’ (same reason as in step 1)

Step 3

• Open up a terminal and ensure libgpod3 is installed
• Then install ipod-convenience application in synaptic. In Ubuntu the command is:

#sudo apt-get install ipod-convenience

• When ipod-convenience is being installed you will be prompted to enter your phone’s IP address. Submit the IP address you noted down from step 2
• Accept the default mount point (/media/iphone)

Step 4

• Connect the iPhone/iPod to the PC with the USB cord.
• Open a terminal enter the command:

#ipod-touch-mount

For iPhones, the command is:

# iphone-mount

• Once the connection is made, you will be prompted for the root user password
• Enter the password. The default password is ‘alpine’
• This completes the mounting process, thus enables your iDevice to access your Linux system’s files.

Step 5

• Once the syncing process is complete, you should always unmount the device from your Linux system. To unmount an iPod, open a terminal and type

#ipod-touch-umount

For iPhones, the command is:

# iphone-umount

• Re-enter the password, when prompted. This completes the unmounting procedure

Source: tamsppc.tamoggemon.com

Getting Prepared

Having identified the right model for the installation, the next step is to choose a proper Linux distribution for your iPaq. As you all know, Linux comes in an assortment of distributions, streamlined for different usage requirements. For the use in an iPaq, the particular Linux distribution that we will be eyeing at is called ‘Familiar’.

Hardware Prerequisites

Go through the following checklist. All items are mandatory.

• iPaq with Windows CE
• Computer with Microsoft Windows and ACTIVESync installed.
• A cradle to connect the PC with the iPaq.

Software Prerequisites

Make sure these software items are also available before you begin installation.

• The latest Bootloader files (BootBlaster.exe and bootldr files)

download at www.handhelds.org

• Linux Familiar (The kernel and base system plus the GUI/desktop environment)

downloaded at http://familiar.handhelds.org/

Installing Bootloader

Similar to the GRUB in desktop PCs, Bootloader is the program that enables your handheld device start up with the operating system. You must carefully follow these steps to install the bootloader in your iPaq.

• Connect your iPaq to the PC using the cradle.
• Using ActiveSync copy BootBlaster.exe and bootldr files from your destop to your handheld.
• Once copying is complete, run BootBlaster.exe and follow the onscreen instructions to backup the existing bootloader and the operating system of the iPaq
• Allow the backup process to finish. Usually a progress bar indicates this.
• From BootBlaster.exe screen menu:

Flash->Program->Select your bootloader from the dialog box that opens

• Wait patiently while the bootloader installation finishes. It is very important that your iPaq not be interrupted during this installation process. You may observe screen freezing, hanging during this period.
• If the freezing continues for more than 15 seconds reboot your iPaq and repeat the process of selecting and starting bootloader application.
• Once the installation finishes you need to verify it. Go to:

Flash->menu->Verify

• This should show a valid bootloader. If it doesn’t do not ever reset it. Repeat the process of selecting the bootloader again, fail in which you must call for some online assistance

Rebooting iPaq

After successfully installing the bootloader, you need to reboot the iPaq. Here is how.

• Ensure that the terminal emulator is configured to 115200 baud and no flow control
• Boot with bootlrd’s command line prompt (boot >) by pressing and holding the suspend button for a few seconds followed by pushing the recessed reset button. You need to hold the suspend button for a little longer and release it.

Installing the Operating System

The final step of this process is to install Familiar on your handheld device.

• Connect the iPaq and cradle to a serial port under Linux
• Copy (jffs2 file, reflash.ctl and md5sums ) to the root of the CompactFlash card from your PC and put the card in the Jacket
• Once the copying finishes reboot the device by pressing and holding the record button on the left side.
• Select the image and install it.
• Now the installation is complete. Congratulations!

Author: Nilanka

When the connection between the hardware device and the local Linux file system is made, after completing whatever the data transfers/modifications the Linux system also expects you to tear that connection down. This process is called “unmounting”. Mounting and unmounting can be done manually via issuing terminal instructions or automatically via assigning it to a daemon, in which case the system will automatically recognize external file systems without the user’s intervention. The automatic mounting process is known as ‘Auto-mount’.

There are two types of auto-mounting in Linux

• AMD
• Autofs

How to Use AMD Automounter

AMD automounter is used especially in network file systems, in which one machine needs to access files on a remote machine over a network. Binaries and files that amd command uses are located in:

• /usr/sbin/amd amd executable
• /etc/amd.conf amd configuration file which can be customized to add/delete new remote file systems to be mounted on your local system
• /etc/rc.d/init.d/amd run this to start amd
• /.automount temporary directory to manage the mount points

The default process of automounting using AMD looks like this.

• Start amd by typing at the terminal

/etc/rc.d/init.d/amd start

• type

/usr/sbin/amd -a /.automount /net /etc/amd.conf

This command will automount the file systems specified in /etc/amd.conf to the mount point /net.

Additionally you may also find the following comands useful, when using amd.

• /etc/rc.d/init.d/amd status check amd status
• cat /etc/mtab view available mount devices
• amq -ms check status amd status
• df check disk free space
• showmount -e displays a list of exported directories.
• tail -100 /var/log/messages view log

How to Use Autofs Automounter

• First you need to install autofs using an installation manager. You may download the autofs RPM file available at,

http://rpm.pbone.net/index.php3/stat/4/idpl/3196737/dir//com/autofs-3.1.7-8.i586.rpm.html

• Install autofs rpm file.

rpm -qa | grep autofs

• You will find two automount configuration files in /etc directory. One is auto.master and the other is auto.misc.
• Assume your auto.master has an entry like this;

/misc /etc/auto.misc –timeout 60

This means that /misc directory will contain the autofs mount points, and /etc/auto.misc is where the default mount map file is located, and also after 60 seconds of idling the device will be automatically unmounted. Assume you want to automount your CD-ROM onto the Linux file system.

• Add the following line to the end of auto.misc file.

cdrom -fstype=iso9660,ro,nosuid,nodev :/dev/cdrom

• Save and exit from auto.misc file.
• Restart autofs by typing the following command at the terminal.

/etc/init.d/autofs restart

• Once autofs restarts, initially you may not be able to view the contents of the CD-ROM at /misc as configured.
• Type at the terminal.

ll /misc/cdrom

• You will be able to see the contents of the CD-ROM now.
• Once you are done simply eject the CD.

Author: Nilanka

Ubuntu, one of the mainstream Linux distributions adopted the same concept of an online store for making the life easy for the ordinary Linux user. But what does it mean by purchasing open source applications through an online store? Isn’t it contradictory? Open source is not for purchase right? Let’s have a detailed look into Ubuntu App Store in order to figure out what’s going on there.

The App Store was first introduced by Canonical, the creators and sponsors of Ubuntu during an Ubuntu developer summit. The name of the online application store went through quite an evolution in terms of the name. It was first code named as AppCenter and now it is called simply Ubuntu Software Store. This is a completely a brainchild of Canonical and the software store surely increase the value of Canonical as an open-source / Linux company.

The main feature of this app store when compared to traditional software installation mechanism on Linux is the proper categorization. Almost all the free and open source software under the Sun has been carefully categorized, so the regular users can browse through the categories and install what they prefer to install. On the other hand, this again helps people to tryout Ubuntu more, and eventually increasing the conversion into Linux.

In a Linux system, there are various ways of installing an application. One can download the source and compile it by oneself and install. Or, they can use many package management systems and they are different from one another. When it comes to the Ubuntu app store, there is a unique specialty in terms of installation methodology. The uses of the App Store can just click and install any application available in the App Store. But in the backend, not all these applications come in the same installation methodology. They share different methodologies such as Update Manager, Synaptics, and Gdebi. The App Store has unified all these methods into one easy step, so the user does not have to be bothered about the method used for installing the applications. This unifications of software installation on Linux was long due task done by the Ubuntu team.

In addition to the installation of new software, Ubuntu App Store can also be used for installing updates for the existing software applications. This makes maintaining and updating a Linux system smooth and seamless.

Have you heard about Launchpad? This is a free and open-source software repository where users can download the developer and latest stable versions of software. Canonical is now planning to integrate the app store with the Launchpad, so Linux users can access the latest builds available in the Launchpad as well. Once this is done, Ubuntu App Store will be useful for both regular users as well as advanced users who are keen on laying their hands on the latest builds.

Now, let’s go back to our original questions; purchasing open source software. As you can now understand, although this is an app store, you do not have to buy the software, rather download and install them for free of charge. Although this follows the same commercial format of an App Store, it also protects the open source interests by offering all the open source software. In addition to the open source software, there are free but proprietary software (such as device drivers) available in the App Store.

Author: Nilanka

This is one of the tricks Ubuntu has been playing on its users for years. Every time when a new version of Ubuntu comes out, we see a brand new set of wallpapers that have been designed in align with the Ubuntu philosophy. This indeed impresses the Ubuntu user. With 10.10, it is not just a couple of wallpapers, but a rich set of Ubuntu wallpapers for the eye of its users.

The Installer

There are many types of Linux installers used by various flavors of Linux. When Ubuntu was first released, they took a unique turn in terms of the installer and tried hard to make it a simple and autonomous process. In align to the original goal, the latest Ubuntu installer has gone through many improvements in terms of both graphical user interface and the functionality. The new installer allows the users to download the packages from the Internet at the initial stages of the configuration process. This avoids the earlier process of updating the entire system at the first boot. Therefore, Ubuntu system becomes up-to-date and functional as soon as the installation process ends.

Theme Tweaks

Ubuntu theme is one of the most loved features of Ubuntu distribution. The developers and designers of Ubuntu made the themes quite unique for Ubuntu which catered for both usability and eye-candy requirements. There are two new themes introduced by Ubuntu: Radiance and Ambiance. When it comes to features and basic look-and-feel, the two themes are the same, except the color tone. One is darker than the other.

Ubuntu Software Centre

This is one of the most hyped features of Ubuntu 10.10. It is correct to say that, this has been the most anticipated feature of Ubuntu 10.10 for some time. The existence of Ubuntu Software Center was announced at an Ubuntu Developer Convention and the hype started from that day onwards. The Software Center makes it easy for anyone to install any software application on Ubuntu, including commercial software. The Software Center functions the same way as how AppStore functions for Apple. At the moment, there are only a few software that can be bought through Software Center. With time, this is expected to expand.

The Volume Indicator and Music Player Integration

For the music enthusiasts, this is one of the most important features. Without having to open your favorite music player every time you want to change to a new song or control the volume, you can now do all this using the top menu bar’s system tray. By integrating both volume control and music player, the new system tray is less cluttered. By default, Ubuntu’s default music player, Rhythmbox works perfectly with this integration. To be frank, I haven’t tried out any other music player with this setup yet. I will let you know as soon as I try something else to see whether those music players can be controlled through this implementation.

Gnome Shell

Gnome shell has been there for some time as an unstable build. The latest version of Ubuntu has decided to add Gnome shell as a preview for what is coming next from Gnome. This is one of the important directions of Gnome development and its roadmap. The users who would like to experience the future of Gnome shell, can go ahead and start using it. Gnome shell has been designed with brand new design and usability features in mind. The Gnome shell resembles a netbook operating system.

Ubuntu Font

Gnome font is one of the new featured added in Ubuntu 10.10. I find Ubuntu font as one of the most innovative and user-friendly fonts that has been developed for Linux in recent years. I used to change the default font of Ubuntu as soon as the installation process finishes, but with Ubuntu 10.10, that did not happen.

Author: Nilanka

As we all know, both Red Hat and Fedora use an rpm based package management system. In the good old way, one needs to download all rpm files necessary for a particular installation and install them manually. This was quite a hassle, especially when there were dozens of dependencies found during the installation process. Many other Linux distributions such as Gentoo and Ubuntu introduced an automated tool for doing the same. By just issuing a command, the package was checked for dependencies, downloaded, installed, and configured.

Although Fedora uses YUM, it is not a tool fully developed by Fedora. YUM stands for Yellowdog Updater Modified. Do you remember the Red Hat based distribution, Yellowdog? Yes, YUM was initially developed by them with the help of community developers. From the first version, the predecessor of YUM has been free and open source software which was released under GPL. Then, various parties and developers start developing other tools that complement the predecessor of YUM to expand its functionality.

YUM makes the life easier for many people involved in Linux, such as system administrators of large computer networks. Using YUM, system administrators can easily automate the Linux update and upgrade process, saving a lot of time and money. With the enhancements of YUM, it introduced and new XML standard for repositories and soon it became the de facto standard for all rpm based repositories. With such enhancements, the other distributions, such as SuSE started adding support for YUM in the recent versions.

There are many similar package management systems for YUM. These package management systems have been introduced by various Linux distributions. When it comes to the core operations, YUM works the same way as any other package management system. When it comes to performance and configurability, YUM has a definite advantage. YUM’s performance in package management has been noted by system administrators who manage rpm based Linux systems. Therefore, YUM is being tried and deployed for many rpm based Linux systems worldwide.

When you use YUM, you can update the entire system by issuing a single command. In addition, you can setup cron jobs to automate the package update process. By simply issuing respective command, YUM automatically downloads the packages, configure them and install in the system. In addition to software packages, YUM also downloads 3^rd party software and security patches released for Linux software packages.

YUM is considered as one of the safest package management systems for rpm based Linux systems. YUM uses gpg for verifying the authenticity of software packages. Therefore, there is no space for tampered packages to get into your system. Due to strong gpg verification, YUM repositories do not have to have strong security. Therefore, almost all the YUM repositories are just file sharing directories on the web. This simplicity itself compliments the performance of YUM.

If YUM has not been packaged as default software for your rpm based Linux system, you can simply install YUM by downloading the YUM rpm package to your Linux system. Once YUM is downloaded, install it by issuing rpm installation commands. After this step, you will not be using rpm commands ever again!

Author: Nilanka