[SLUG] OSS

[Gavin Baker]

On 16 Oct 2006, at 11:31, Fintan Gaughan wrote:

> Phil Thane is a member of North Wales LUG (and writes for  
> publications such as
> Micro Mart) and has requested the following be forwarded to as many  
> LUGs
> as possible.
>
>
> Hello,
>
> I'm a member of the North Wales LUG with an appeal to users right  
> across the
> UK.

<Very Big SNIP.>

Phil,

I agree almost entirely.

But some points are going to be hard to make. Extremadura was one of  
the poorest regions in Spain. How has it changed since it went Linux?  
Thats not easy to discover over such a small timeframe, even if you  
are Spanish. Also, If you are going to be truthful and say "They were  
skint, so they went Linux, and now the kids can't get a job in the  
rest of the country because they all want people who can use  
Windows",  I don't think it's gonna help. *Most* "IT" jobs (most jobs  
in computing fall under this category) are for people who know how to  
use Windows, not computers. Yeah, schools are a good place to change  
this awful situation, but still.

"Windows? I can use Linux..."
"Lie-Nux?, we will call you back".

You really need to send an email to Alan Cox. He was the next in  
command for linux (after Linus) for a *long* time, and he is Welsh  
also.  He's a cool person, and pretty much a genius. I think he would  
jump at the opportunity to come along with you and chat about Linux,  
even though, I think, he is still on his sabbatical.

A rallying call of "OSS!" might scare them, but "Save a big pile of  
cash by swapping word for oo.org" surely wouldn't. So don't try too  
hard for linux! Little by little (in the general direction) would be  
a good thing.

Also, the coolest thing Extremadura are actually doing with their new  
IT infrastructure is using Squeak, Yeah they are saving big piles of  
cash too, but make sure you let them know smalltalk/squeak runs on  
windows too, that even, would be a giant leap. (google has some  
squeak videos).

Even if you only made a tiny inroad though Phil, I think it would be  
worthwhile. So good luck and all the best!

Gav