This is just my opinion so no flaming.
I like how Linux is being adopted by small business over Microsoft Server. The freedom and flexibility must be a great incentive for start-ups.
Its also good to see that the world in general and the main line media is beginning to take notice on a regular basis of the change. See Microsofts new play for linux lovers by the Wall Street Journal.
Linux is becoming the operating system of choice and I hope we will see a greater increase in the next few years. I believe these days its not about price, but freedom, flexibility and stability that using Open Source software provides.
My migration away from Windows came when I decided to give Linux ago again. I tried Mandrake 7.2 in 2000 after I got married and thought this stuff has great promise and potential. At that time I was on dial-up and it wasnt my time to switch. Now in 2008 I have celebrated 1 year using Mandriva (I choose this as I was familiar with Mandrake from 2000 and had not heard of Ubuntu). The main reason I switched 12 months ago, or the inspiration for my switch was the constant dealing with the Windows environment. I was no casual user of Microsoft products but had been using them since the DOS days in the early 90’s. What bugged me was daily maintenance, the odd trojan or virus sneaking in through the firewall and the main catalyst; the instability in the the Windows Desktop as a whole. I was a lucky person. I never ever got the BSOD; but I knew a lot of people who did. My usual routine was having to reinstall windows every 6 months just to try and get some stability and peace of mind that my system was secure. An every install for me including every application I use was around 4 to 5 hours. This gets tedious after a while and if anything went wrong during installation there was no way to repair the problem and continue.
So after these constant struggles I downloaded the ISO for Mandriva 2007, repartitioned my Hard Disk and began the installation process. I was so amazed how far Mandrake/Mandriva Linux had come. The installation took about 1 hr from the DVD with no updates. The DVD installed everything I need for a funtional desktop, with no need to install applications. I did the updates once it booted into KDE and added the repositories. Adding root and users accounts was simple and before I knew it I had a working desktop. I was amazed at the speed and flexibilty of Linux and the thought that Mandriva put into making it an easy experience for new people. The Mandriva Control Center or Draktools as they are known in the Mandriva community, made configuration of printers and network sharing simple. I did not need to use the command line once during this process. I thought I was in heaven. The speed of the OS also impressed me. It ran rings around my Windows XP installation even after I freshly installed it three months before. I decided from then to make Linux my default booting OS and would slowly find equivalent applications to replace those I used in Windows.
WOW if startups are seeing this when they begin their business and are implimenting Linux over Windows, then I can understand why Microsoft is finding it hard. The ease and stability to configure makes linux a free viable option. Not to mention less down time then With Windows Server.
If I was starting a small business and needed servers for daily business and to provide solution to my customer I would now choose Linux over Windows. I would also have Linux as for staff as my desktop of Choice. Would probably stick with Mandriva as distribution of Choice.
These are just my thoughts, do what you will with them.