Long time customers may have noticed a few delays in the implementation of new services and updates to their web sites. There’s a reason for this. I’m calling that reason Linux. Or Ubuntu Linux, if you want to get technical about it.
Long story short, we have recently made the commitment to switch all of our systems over to a Linux-based solution. Oh, sure, our servers have always used Linux, but the office computers and digital audio workstations have always used various flavors of Microsoft Windows. Yes, Windhaven Network is (or was) one of those companies that was stubbornly clinging to Windows XP on some of our computers. And with the recent demise of Windows XP, I started looking around at the next step for Windhaven Network and decided I no longer wanted to be involved with Microsoft in any substantial way.
There are a number of reason for this. Foremost among them is a renewed commitment to open standards and Creative Commons. Corporate culture is walling off the garden, as it were, and concentrating solely on the big players with the deep pockets. eBay is a perfect example of this. While the company made its bones providing auction services for the general public, it’s been transitioning into a full-blown storefront for corporate America, and it’s screwing over small business and independent players. Corporate America is forgetting those of us at the lower end of the ladder, and who better represents Corporate America than Microsoft?
Anyway, our transitions haven’t been entirely smooth. They’re not going to be when you’re switching over from familiar old Microsoft Windows to something more challenging, such as Ubuntu Linux on desktops and Ubuntu Studio on our digital audio workstations. But we’re getting back up to speed. If you’ve experience recent delays in the implementation of new services and updates, rest assured that the Linux deployment cycle is almost complete, and it’s just about business as usual for Windhaven Network.
I want to thank all of our customers and clients for your patience. Change is often intimidating, and it’s usually a struggle. But now that our commitments are beginning to bear fruit, we are excited about the possibilities. I’m probably more excited than anyone. It feels good, and it feels right, to know that Windhaven Network is putting its money where its mouth is, and is standing by its convictions that a line has to be drawn in the sand where Corporate America is concerned, and that average Americans should not be shoe-horned into purchasing goods and services they may not need because they don’t know that there are other alternatives.
Since we are one of those other alternatives to corporations such as GoDaddy.com and Wix.com, Windhaven Network is determined to be on the right side of history.
~ Wicasta Lovelace
