] In 2000, the Business Software Alliance conducted a
] raid and subsequent audit at 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 LinuxWorld trade show. "We won't
] do business with someone who treats us poorly.

An entertaining interview with a medium sized business owner who runs linux exclusively.

Ernie Ball Rockin' on without Microsoft