Promoting Linux before release of vista

[James Knott]

Evan Leibovitch wrote:
> Paul Sutton wrote:
> 
>> Hi
>>
>> What has the group got planned to promote GNU/Linux before MS release
>> vista,  as that is going to get a massive publicity push for vista
>> Just thoujght we should do something similar at around the time.
> 
> Personally, I'm not sure if it's useful to put a lot of energy into
> something that is simply reactive.
> 
> What I do think needs stressing at a more general level is that "upgrade
> time" for a company is one of the best opportunities to introduce FOSS.
> It makes little economic sense to upgrade something that is already
> working (reasonably) well; a company that has already spent money on its
> proprietary software doesn't realize a huge cost benefit moving to FOSS
> in mid-lifespan.
> 
> But at upgrade time, the rules change. At that time companies need to
> consider the cost of not just the upgraded software but also related
> training, migration and (especially in the MS world) the required
> hardware upgrades necessary to run the new software. This is the point
> at which consideration of FOSS makes most sense on purely economic
> grounds. The other points (such as reduced vendor lock-in) also become
> issues which don't matter at other times.
> 
> Most of the Microsoft "MS is cheaper than Linux arguments" compare the
> cost of moving to Linux (retraining, integration, etc) compared to doing
> nothing and staying with Windows. At upgrade time, there's no comparison.

Anyone who thinks MS is cheaper, should ask what's the cost to a
business, when someone's Outlook personal folder, loaded with a Gig or
more of email, goes kablooey.  Also, what do viruses, worms, spyware
etc., cost to erradicate?
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