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On Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 10:08:32PM +0100, Grant Sewell wrote:
> > > Ok we have all heard the excuses why Linux can't be or shouldn't be
> > > used in education. I'm looking to collect together the top 10 with a
> > > plausible and polite debunk.
> Couldn't come up with sensible rebuttals to these 3.
I don't think there are any sensible reasons why any public sector should
not by default be FLOSS based.
- There may be programmes that are required that are purchased
- There may well be an additional need for programmers to "tune" the software
- There may well be areas that have to run on proprietary software
The biggest problem IMHO is getting people to understand that
- There is a choice.
- There are short term switching costs but probable long term cost savings.
- With FLOSS should come an increase in productivity as staff learn how
to use software to solve problems. This will have a longer advantage to
the UK economy.
I see Vince Cable this morning http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11382047
is making a speech about on "City greed and self-interest". Similarly if
you google for "short-term shareholder" there are 7.2m articles. This
non-use of FLOSS in the public sector is another example of short-term
thinking.
--
Henry
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