[Scottish] Help - Need some good arguments

[Ben Thorp]

OK - you could probably add in the following arguments:

1. Security, in terms of the amount of control a user gets over the machine
- you can lock the machines down much more easily.

2. Fair trade - most churches are into fairly traded goods - Bill Gates may
have a (reasonably) impressive history of giving to charity, but Microsoft
have a history of tying people, including governments of developing
nations, into their proprietary, costly, environments. I think you could
probably find some good examples of MS giving out "freebies" to nations
thinking of using Linux, but their "freebies" are only free until the
license needs renewed.

3. If you really want to go for it, you can suggest that Open Source
represents the 'grace' of the software world, whereas MS is an unrepentant
sinner, convicted of antitrust, but still living by greed, and that no
self-respecting church could, without-guilt, use MS software. ;o)

4. If it's in a poorer area, you could point out that free software like
OpenOffice.org can be provided, so that everyone can be equally 'endowed'
without the need for a trip to the Barras ;o)

Ultimately, churches tend to be very technologically naive - if they didn't
want your opinion then they shouldn't have asked for it! However, they are
usually very cost conscious: each of your main points has a cost benefit:
less worms = less maintenance = less cost, etc, etc.

HTH


Ben Thorp



                                                                                                                                        
                      "Philip Ward"                                                                                                     
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                      09-02-04 12:17                                                                                                    
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Hi Folks,

I need your argumentative help. I've built a LInux Terminal Server based
Cyber Cafe for our Church community project, but a couple of influential
board of management members have cried "It's not Microsoft, we hate it!"
It looks like my work is to be tossed out and a pile of crap put in its
place.
If I get the chance to present to the board of management what sort of
arguments should I give?
I've already got stability, price, no mass-mailing viruses, ease of
maintenance (one terminal server verses umpteen workstations), oh yes, and
the fact that they can count me out if they go this route.

Any other arguments I could use?

Phil.


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