How to convince my boss to use Ubuntu

[hazmatt]

So, I run FC6 on my desktop, Ubuntu desktop on a media box, and Ubuntu server on three separate servers. At work, my boss has mostly Windows servers and only a few Linux servers. He knows next to nothing about Linux and only has it because an associate convinced him to a few years back (running FC2 on the older ones and FC5 on a few that are more recent). He has the mindset that because the software is free, it's not as good. We are about to build a new server for a customer who is currently running a RedHat 7.2 server, so they are fine with another Linux server. They use it almost entirely for network storage, so they don't really need a whole lot, but I really like Ubuntu in the server environment, and I think it would work well for them, not to mention cut their costs. How can I convince my boss of this?

[Sef]

1) Ask specifically what the needs are of his computers.

2) If you know these or have found them out, then I would write up a paper or presentation on Linux vs Windows. (Have plenty of back up, e.g. news articles, surveys, etc.)

3) Include TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) in the paper or presentation.

4) Cover both the Good and Bad points.

[gus sett]

this reply is based on the chart's worth a 1000 words principle. I found ubuntu's forum
after getting a Vista laptop on sale. I experienced difficulty writing/reading the DVD of my
own test files, even though the standard steps for making the 1 recovery disc set
quota generated no errors during verification. Google's initial searches on the drive brand
yielded far east, non-alphabetic responses. Didn't take long for me to pass on guessing
what to download. But deeper down in the responses was ubuntuforums.org, easy to
operate, and fascinating emoticons to boot. Within a week, the boost yielded touchdown.

So now I have time to browse the magazine stand at Border's. April 2007 of PC World has
an article describing Microsoft, Apple, and Linux O/S characteristics. Ubuntu is the Linux
logo featured. So give it your best shot and check out the article. Go tiger. :KS

So, I run FC6 on my desktop, Ubuntu desktop on a media box, and Ubuntu server on three separate servers. At work, my boss has mostly Windows servers and only a few Linux servers. He knows next to nothing about Linux and only has it because an associate convinced him to a few years back (running FC2 on the older ones and FC5 on a few that are more recent). He has the mindset that because the software is free, it's not as good. We are about to build a new server for a customer who is currently running a RedHat 7.2 server, so they are fine with another Linux server. They use it almost entirely for network storage, so they don't really need a whole lot, but I really like Ubuntu in the server environment, and I think it would work well for them, not to mention cut their costs. How can I convince my boss of this?