Dawson has run all but one of Box Populi's internal management systems and all of his company's retail applications on open-source software since he founded the company in October 2003, saving an estimated $146,000 by using Ubuntu instead of Microsoft.

“QuickBooks aside, Dawson prefers Ubuntu not just to other open-source software but to any other software. Period.” The only management task Dawson does not trust to open source is his internal accounting. For that he still relies, albeit grudgingly, on QuickBooks. “We're just not comfortable using a hosted service for our financials, and while there are Linux accounting products out there, they're garbage.” QuickBooks aside, Dawson prefers Ubuntu not just to other open-source software but to any other software. Period.