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<TITLE>RE: [Scottish] The Future of the LUG</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>> > Just for clarification: it's more a case of persuading folk </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> like the </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > Scottish</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > Executive and the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body to </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> shift off MS; not to </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > mention encouraging similar moves in the public sector at </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> large. Pat talks </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > about this (with text of parliamentary questions, etc.) on </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> his website </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> > (www.patrickharviemsp.com). </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> It's not so much getting politicians away from using </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Microsoft's products (although it could save a substantial </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> amount) as getting them away from closed, secret, non-free </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> document formats. I can foresee problems ahead when all </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> those documents written in Word 95 suddenly aren't readable </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> when Office 2005 comes out and support for older formats is </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> dropped (not that Microsoft would do such a thing, would they?)</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>As an IT person working in IT for the Scottish Executive I'm saying nothing. However I think your chances of getting anything done in the short term considering there has just been a massive Microsoft based OS roll-out are minimal to say the least.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>cds</FONT>
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