The Xubuntu team hears stories about how it is used in organizations all over the world. In this “Xubuntu at..” series of interviews, we seek to interview organizations who wish to share their stories. If your organization is using Xubuntu and you want to share what you’re doing with us please contact Elizabeth K. Joseph at lyz@ubuntu.com to discuss details about your organization.

Late last year we heard from developer Greg Blumenthal when he told us that he’d been deploying Xubuntu to customers who were “extremely happy” with their new systems. This month we took some time to ask him some questions about his work and the deployments.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and the organizations you work with?

I am a freelance LAMP developer. Most of my clients are Mexican debt collection agencies, although I also work with food processing companies, telemarketers, and B2B VoIP companies.

What influenced your decision to use Free/Open Source Software for your customers?

Stability, ease of installation, ease of management, timely security updates. Interestingly, cost is NOT an issue here, as pirate copies of Windows are readily available.

What made you select Xubuntu specifically?

Low memory footprint, ease of installation on older systems, and ease of configuration to appear as familiar as possible to the end-users.

Can you tell us a bit about your Xubuntu setup?

I remove games, xchat, and other work distractions, and add openssh-server (allowing remote management), ntp, samba, and a SIP client (usually Zoiper or SFLphone). Everything is configures for Spanish with either Spanish or Latin American keyboards. I even install it in Spanish, even though English is my first language.

Is there anything else you wish to share with us about your work or how you use Xubuntu?

The biggest challenge is always sound. Whether it is ALSA or PulseAudio, I spend more time and effort managing sound issues for my clients than all other issues combined.

Huge thanks to Greg for taking the time to talk to us, and best of luck in his continued work with Xubuntu!