[TriLUG] Vista

[jason tower]

bear in mind that it is possible to run a small business without 
quickbooks, act, or goldmine.  in fact you can run a small business 
entirely without proprietary software if you really want to.  ask me how 
i know :)

when i started cerient six years ago i chose not to use quickbooks et al 
because i refused to let my business finances be locked to a single 
vendor and their proprietary software and data format.  yes, i do have 
to make some sacrifices in order to make this work but it can be done. 
when it comes to open source software we don't just "talk the talk" we 
"walk the walk".

jason

> Because many businesses are wedded to software that only runs
> on Windows. Quickbooks, ACT, Goldmine are good examples for
> small businesses.
> 
> If _I_ was to start a software business right now, it might
> be replacing those with either browser-based services or cross-
> platform clients. Give users a good reason to switch and they
> would - even if the purchase cost was the same, because support
> from those companies is horrid.  Quickbooks is both indispensable
> and a PITA for us on a weekly basis.
> 
>