[vox] [fwd] Re: [school-discuss] License Flipping

[Joseph Arruda]

On Feb 13, 2008 9:13 AM, Bill Kendrick <nbs at sonic.net> wrote:

>
> Some thoughts 'from the trenches' on moving open source software into
> schools
> when people are worried about still being able to use their Windows
> applications.  (To sum it up: rather than try to find Linux alternatives,
> or run Windows simulators, simply move to web-based apps, which are more
> reliable and accessible _to being with_, then Linux as the desktop OS
> can't
> really be argued against,


Nor can it be argued for.  In such a case your leverage is still not very
strong unless the compelling need to change the client platform exists.  And
while the article addresses that tacitly, it does not seem to notice that
transferring the issue to a web platform does not actually get rid of the
issue, but merely superimposes it against a different backdrop.

You still have to cope with entrenched interests, institutional inertia, and
on a technical level, issues with formats (read: what is stuff archived in,
is it easily converted, et al)

At the end of the day, the biggest problem is that basic things like
requirement gathering, planning and implementing to meet requirements is
rarely done well (if at all in a meaningful way), and schools (much like
corporations) are often risk-averse unless there is a clear set of answers
to an often vague set of questions.

ja

-- =

Joseph Arruda
http://www.zeruch.net
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