Unified Front... [was Re: [seul-edu] M$ Audits (shortened)]

["Stephen C. Daukas" <stephen@daukas.com>]

At 09:10 PM 4/23/2002, Leon wrote:
>On Tuesday 23 April 2002 21:16, Stephen C. Daukas wrote:
> > I'm talking about a solution that is useable by those who are not rabid
> > members of a LUG, or Sys Admins in their day job, or past High-tech

[snip]

>I'd recommend the latest Mandrake or SuSE offerings without hesitation.

[snip]

Steve goes on another typing spree...   ;-)

Now, here is one of the killer issues facing the "rebellion":  SuSE is big 
in Europe, but not as big in the US, and Mandrake is also a distant second 
to Red Hat in terms of market share.  Applications that are released by 
vendors in the US "support" Red hat first and others second, if at all.  So 
what recommendations would a group of Linux-lovers put before a School 
Board?  Remember, I contend that the Board members don't care about which 
technology is better...  Also, technology offerings from different 
companies "leap-frog" one another, so next month's recommendation might be 
different from this month's, if you let the technology be the imperative...

Its all Linux under the hood as far as people in the know are concerned, 
but the fact that Macromedia, for example, said they support Red Hat means 
something to the market.  Of course, each flavor of Linux has a different 
file structure so if you really wanted to run ColdFusion on Linux, for 
example, you'd be nuts to select anything other than RH - right?

One reason why M$ has been so successful is that they have avoided the 
"religious" wars that existed in the UNIX community 20 years ago, and that 
exist in the Linux community today, to a lesser extent.  Back then it was 
SunOS versus AIX versus HPUX versus..., followed by Minix, Coherent, etc., 
then Linux, which splintered into Red Hat, Caldera, Slakware, etc., and now 
we have the Red Hat derivatives including Mandrake, et al.

Everyone went with M$ because they didn't have to understand the technology 
to reach a decision - they just went with the market leader.  Ah, 
marketing!  (This is doubly true when it comes to apps like Word.)

Before my point in misunderstood, let me say that I actually own copies of 
SuSE, RH, Caldera, and Mandrake.  I have opinions on all of them, but none 
that eclipse the opinion of "Linux, in general, is good."  However, this 
"war" against the "evil empire" has absolutely nothing to do with technical 
excellence - one only need look at M$'s technology to understand that 
technology doesn't an empire make!

>The showstopper is the zillion different educational and quasi-educational
>apps that only have Windows (and soemtimes Mac) versions. WINE is coming
>along nicely, but it has to be said that it is not yet useful enough to do
>the job. However, if/when CodeWeavers and TransGaming contribute back all of
>their patches, it will be very close.

And the above reenforces my point!

Imagine a School Board meeting considering the motion of "going 
Linux".  Imagine someone in the audience asking the simple question of 
"does what we run today work on what you are proposing?".  That is the sort 
of question you can't easily redirect because the inference is "are we 
throwing away our prior investment if we adopt your approach?"  Add to this 
concern the uncertainty of Linux (which vendor), the whispered advice from 
those who know, or think they know, what GNU/Linux/Open Source is all 
about, and you have the biggest case of the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) 
factor imaginable!  This usually translates into no action - status quo - 
the marketing strategy of the market leader.

Now, Microsoft has have provided the potential motivation for reconsidering 
the status quo - they are seen as going after the schools for $, something 
in short supply already...  Extortion, perceived or otherwise, and the FUD 
factor do not mix well...

So how do we take advantage of the situation?  (Or, how do we get major 
Linux vendors to take advantage of the situation?)

I think it is pretty clear that Star Office is the productivity app of 
choice, even though it has an occasional glitch with M$.  Beyond that, 
everyone seems to have their favorite browser, favorite email client, and 
so on.  Dare I bring up gnome versus KDE?  ;-)

So, my point in all this goes something like this:

How do we overcome issues like:
     the market dominance of M$ productivity apps (OK - S.O. it is)
     the lack of non M$-based educational software
     the ability to attract and retain Linux/UNIX Sys Admin talent
     the multiple Linux offerings and the multiple "standard" apps
     the contract requirements some schools have with Apple

What is the "packaged" solution that can be presented to a School District 
that will give them relief from M$ fees, assure them that the Linux 
"solution" will meet or exceed the current installed "solution", relieve 
the FUD factor associated with "choosing the wrong Linux horse", and give 
assurance that they can fend off the criticisms from the parents who are 
self proclaimed technology experts, as well as from those who actually are?

Once we think we have that solved, and once we think we have a solid 
understanding of the migration issues, we could try to support those 
willing to try to get their schools to move.  We could also approach a 
vendor to see if they are willing to join in...

OK, I'll stop now!

Steve