Life After Bluescreens Company Dumps Microsoft For Linux And The Beat Goes On

Rockin' on without Microsoft at Ernie Ball

In 2000, the Business Software Alliance conducted a raid and subsequent audit at [ Ernie Ball Inc. ] the San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based company that turned up a few dozen unlicensed copies of programs. Ball settled for $65,000, plus $35,000 in legal fees. But by then, the BSA, a trade group that helps enforce copyrights and licensing provisions for major business software makers, had put the company on the evening news and featured it in regional ads warning other businesses to monitor their software licenses.

Humiliated by the experience, Ball told his IT department he wanted Microsoft products out of his business within six months. "I said, 'I don't care if we have to buy 10,000 abacuses,'" recalled Ball, who recently addressed the GNU/LinuxWorld trade show. "We won't do business with someone who treats us poorly."