Their opinion may already fixed, however, we have the opportunity to make a 
difference.  I can demonstrate using hard numbers that we can convert the 
common desktop (at least the ones I used at my last three jobs) to Linux, 
including Lotus Notes clients and Outlook clients (the hard part!!!) simply 
and with less expense than one year of Microsoft licensing fees.

George


Quoting Robert Bushman <plug@traxel.com>:

> I completely agree that it is critical that County
> understand that this is the case.
> 
> My concern is if we grab them by the scruff of the
> neck and shout, "debar Microsoft now or else!", that
> we will have created enemies where we most need
> friends.
> 
> I'm thinking that County is probably taking a hard
> look at that clause this week, and they probably
> have more expertise in law than we do. We can
> confirm this at the meeting by asking, "what are
> your thoughts on the debarrment clause?" If they
> say, "oh, we haven't read it." we should turn red
> and jump up on the table and shout. I'm betting
> they say, "well, it is an issue - we think it
> means <X>." I'll lay 5 to 1 odds that they will
> have opinion X at the beginning of the meeting,
> and they will have the same opinion X at the end
> of the meeting - entirely regardless of what we
> say. They're as good at county law as we are at
> Linux - it's their specialty.
> 
> But, given that opinion X will, at the very least,
> include, "we need to think about this", we have
> an opportunity to show them, realistically, what
> they can do to start to migrate.
> 
> 
> On Wed, 3 Jul 2002, Jim wrote:
> 
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> > Hash: SHA1
> >
> > Lets not forget the issue that brought the sunshine.  According to
> the
> > procurement procedures of Maricopa County, Microsoft can and should
> be
> > debarred from competing for any county contracts because it has been
> > convicted of federal antitrust violations.
> >
> > That is the point that needs to be made loudly and strongly.  No
> matter how
> > many shills MS wants to bring, no matter how much FUD and
> misinformation they
> > want to spread, they cannot weasel their way around the letter of the
> county
> > procurement procedures.
> >
> > - --
> > Jim
> >
> > Freedom is worth protecting
> >
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
> > Version: PGP 6.5.8
> >
> > iQA/AwUBPSMe0Ssk3ywszI1FEQLtOwCgqWVgSzVpBJ2wxyr6PwL3XHjmcgsAnjJA
> > ejPuwTrXO8cSs/GKt4nQtirM
> > =3tRG
> > -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
> > ________________________________________________
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> >
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>  "We need commonsense judges who understand that our rights were
>  derived from God," - President George W. Bush, 27 June 2002
>  http://www.nandotimes.com/politics/story/448758p-3591873c.html
>  What if he had said, "our rights are derived from Vishnu?"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
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