[clug] Ubuntu Backports

[Ian McLeod]

Hi All,

Have anyone had experience using Ubuntu Backports?  The next distro is 
out in October and I am keen to try the new KDE and Firefox versions.

Speaking of KDE, I can attest to losing a few solid nights of 
productivity to playing around with KDE4 - it's extremely impressive.  I 
am just stunned how far Linux has come since I last used it seriously a 
few years ago.

I have a sneaking suspicion one could start and run a well managed 
business using only open source now - I have heard from a friend that 
there a number of ERP and e-commerce solutions to choose from now - he's 
starting a business using one himself.

I would like to see some TCO and ROI analyses comparing open and closed 
source business software - at least on a small scale.

I notice that some businesses are releasing their products open source 
and profiting from the support services now too (beyond Ubuntu).

Is anyone aware of any reports on revenue and profitability growth in 
the open source services industry?  Does Canonical (Ubuntu) make any 
money?  I could see us paying for commercial support if we had business 
critical systems running on Ubuntu.

Regards,

Ian