[school-discuss] [Fwd: (LOSS, Mr Doug) Britannica Technical Support [No Ticket]]

[Doug Loss <drloss@suscom.net>]

I just received this from Britannica Technical Support.  From the sound of it,
if we can generate sufficient requests for a Linux version of the Britannica
software they'd be interested in having our help in doing a conversion.  We
should think about a campaign to have people request such a version.

CD Technical Support wrote:

>  Dear Britannica Customer,
>
> The Development Team Leader has responded to us regarding your enquiries in
> the following way.
>
> He advised us that at this time there is insufficient demand for a Unix or
> Linux conversion of the Britannica software but that should this change in
> the future that they would be very interested in working with your group to
> develop the converted product.
>
> In the mean time he has advised us that although the version of Britannica
> (2003) that they are currently working on is only being developed for PC and
> MAC it will be a Java based application and they feel that it will require
> very little work to get this new program to function under Linux.
>
> If you require further assistance with this then please do not hesitate to
> contact us on 0906 751 0101 (calls to this number are charged at 75p per
> minute) or 0044 117 976 0260 for customers outside the UK.  The solution to
> problems can also be found on the Britannica Technical Support website
> (http://cdsupport.britannica.co.uk).
>
> Kind regards
>
> Britannica Technical Support
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doug Loss
> To: support@britannica.co.uk; enquiries@britannica.co.uk
> Cc: schoolforge-discuss@schoolforge.net
> Sent: 26/04/2002 19:17
> Subject: Linux support for Britannica
>
> I represent Schoolforge, a coalition of over 70 organizations from
> around the world dedicated to fostering the use of Linux and other open
> resources in educational settings.  I'm not sure that either tech
> support or customer service is the right place for me to send this
> message; if there's someone better positioned to address the points I'll
>
> raise here, please forward this to that person.  Thank you.
>
> Many of the schools we deal with are interested in installing Linux in
> their schools, for many varying reasons.  One of the concerns we
> regularly hear about is the ability to use the educational software
> they're familiar with.  Some schools have gone so far as to say, "If
> Britannica won't run, we can't use Linux."  We plan to test the ability
> to run your Windows software on Linux via WINE (a compatibility
> program), but we think having a native Linux version would be much more
> desireable.  Since you've already ported the encyclopaedia to the Mac
> OS, this would seem like a fairly straightforward thing to do.  We would
>
> be interested in assisting in developing such a Linux port in any way
> you'd like, even up to doing the port for you ourselves.  We haven't
> allocated any resources toward that yet, of course, but if you're
> interested in this please contact us and let's see what we can do for
> each other!
>
> --
> Doug Loss                 All I want is a warm bed
> Data Network Coordinator  and a kind word and
> Bloomsburg University     unlimited power.
> dloss@bloomu.edu                Ashleigh Brilliant




--
Doug Loss                 All I want is a warm bed
Data Network Coordinator  and a kind word and
Bloomsburg University     unlimited power.
dloss@bloomu.edu                Ashleigh Brilliant