UK members might be interested in this, so will open source fans.

[Kharn]

Ok I was reading a old issue of micromart while on the bus today and there was a short story about how the government is using open source software more and more, to allow for more streamlining in local government. I also have heard roumours from a friend that works in the IT department for the job center that the new job points that they are looking at might run Linux rather than windows as the older machines do.

I think that it is one of the few things the Labor government have got right what do you think?

 

[Oreo]

erm, so your saying there right by doing what.I dont understand

 

[Kharn]

Using open source and trying to streamline and trying to make the system more reliable that is what they are doing right.

 

[Enterpriser]

Well you can not use inferior software forever

 

[Harper]

Linux for servers are a great idea. Like why bother paying ubar amount of dollars for SBS Server Enterprise when you can download a Linux core for free. Provided that you have IT Staff that know what they are doing, you can not go wrong.

As for desktop applications. Not sure about that. It would mean that you would need to train your staff for that. As where Windows is pretty much universal and is easily trained every where. Some of us tech head here might not have a problem with at least giving linux ago. However end users have a lot of difficulty in moving from Windows 98 to Windows 2000. Where you might be saving money on cost of software, you will be spending money on training.

 

[Kharn]

Training last's and the British government is cheep as anything if they can get it for free or cheap they will use it. I am more interested by the fact the government is planing on useing it for the job point's but it might be better than having them go off line for days at a time and the blue screens of death they have been getting recently are of epic proportions, In the local job center they had a projector linked to a computer that displayed the latest local jobs last few times I have been in there it has been blue screen of death.

 

[Trifid]

Not turning this too much into a political thread, but Brown has done the first right thing by stopping the construction of 'super' Casino's in the UK.

On topic. Good for them but the cost of training vastly outweighs the cost of buying an OS licence once every 5 years. Linux for servers and the IT department but not for the average overpaid joe who works for the council/government. The sixth form I am at bought 7 licences for server 2003 for their servers, and then bought 3 more for the next 3 servers (now have 10 servers for a school with 1600 students and 600nodes. )