About FossFolks

Small business owners don’t have time to wade through tons of sketchy documentation that often comes with open source software.  What if there was a place online where they could get some information in a hurry that helped walk them through using an open source application? 

Or, what if they didn’t even know there was such a thing as open source to begin with, and that there were probably open source alternatives to what they were currently using?

Welcome to FossFolks.com, where I set out to solve these problems.

 

My Story…

I’d had it with Office ’97. To update it, I was going to be shelling out way more cash than I thought was necessary, so I started looking for something else. I found an early version of Open Office, and I’ve been hooked on open source software ever since.

What started as a search for cheaper office software turned into some intense crash course classes in Solaris (just barely open sourced at the time I think) and Linux (when Fedora was brand spanking new).

This then turned into a business. While I spent time fixing broken Windows boxes, my focus was on trying to free people and businesses from the yoke of proprietary software. I wasn’t fast enough. My second young ‘un was born, and I had to “get a REAL job.”

If I wanted to be a father, then there was no time for me to build a customer base, and I couldn’t really support any customers well initially if I did. Not that a lot of proprietary software packages have very good support either…

Life has since changed. My kids are 11 and 13 now. I’ve left the corporate IT world (Linux and proprietary ERP support job working from home), and am working a full time job overnight on weekends. I can give this another shot, homeschooling my kids while I build a list of live customers and support them. This time around, I’ve got several more years of experience, and focus.

 

The site gets better when visitors ask questions.  Contact me any time

Fossfolks exists to spread the word. It is our opinion that the drawbacks of proprietary software far outweigh its benefits, and we aim to help people move toward open source alternatives.

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