Posted on 07/16/2010 12:04:01 PM PDT by Willie Green
July 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.K. government staff suggested replacing Microsoft Corp. operating systems on computers with free alternatives in response to a call for ideas for Prime Minister David Cameron’s cost-cutting drive.
Cameron asked the 600,000 government workers last month to make suggestions on saving money as his administration seeks to cut Britain’s record budget deficit. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne today published a sample of the 56,000 submitted ideas, which including abandoning Microsoft, switching office lights off and centralizing stationery procurement.
“In terms of spending less, what about migrating the whole of government (the NHS, education etc.) from Microsoft products to Linux and open-source software like Openoffice,” read one of the suggestions displayed on the Treasury website. Two of the 31 listed proposals, whose authors were not named, suggested dropping Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft.
Open-source software such as Linux and Openoffice offers free or very cheap alternatives to Microsoft’s Windows and Office, the world’s most popular operating system and productivity software. Osborne said before the Conservatives won power in the May 6 election that he favored the idea.
“We need to follow the example of businesses all over the world and take advantage of open-source technology,” Osborne wrote in The Times of London in February 2009.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
Somehow, I think the learning curve for a new operating system may be a little too steep for government employees.
It’s certainly a good idea.
Why? From my experience with them they don’t know much of anything anyway.
ping!
Somehow, I think the learning curve for a new operating system may be a little too steep for government employees.
Most goobermint employees would never know the difference.
They have some computer geek take care of that crap for them anyway.
It's easy enough to make a Linux desktop look like a Windows machine -- at least close enough so that someone who's only using email, web, a word processor, and a spreadsheet won't notice the difference after a day or two.
Hey Brits, why not stop buying Dells, HPs, and the rest and buy “Windsor” or “Royal” PCs instead? What, there *aren’t* any British PC manufacturers?? No major software purveyors either?? Well then sure, go ahead and screw and American business!
I’m not a huge Microsoft fan and think Linux will have a growing role, but bristle at the idea of Brit Gummint lackeys poking the stick in the eye of a US company.
The only problem I see is that Open Office totally sucks.
Actually he gives a ton of money away. Unfortunately it is not to places we want the money to go.
I know he does. That's what I said. He wants everybody else to, also.
I've found Open Office (and NeoOffice) to really suck on Macs but it isn't all that bad on Ubuntu. It's certainly worth the price :-)
Well he can want all he wants but I write the checks in my household and do you in your household. I could care less what he wants. I like Microsoft but I don’t like him much.
He wants rich guys to give it all away to Commies and tinhorn dicatators.
I know. It is crazy. I wish liberals would lose half their beliefs. We would be in much better shape. BTW, I mean as do you not and do you in my last post.
Why? Do you think they owe Microsoft a living or something? The British government has a responsibility to provide the best value for money for the British taxpayer, and the likes of Microsoft and any other company, foreign or domestic should provide a service that is good enough and at the right price for it to be advantageous for the customer to pay the money asked for it. If not, the customer can and should take his business elsewhere, especially when the customer is using taxpayers money like mine to pay for it.
Its a pretty basic free-market capitalist principle. What you are suggesting is a socialist principle without even the benefit of subsidising jobs for British workers. I’ll be damned if I want to pay for corporate welfare for foreign companies like Microsoft and Dell...
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