Re: [Fsfe-uk] Brief report: OSS Watch launch conference. (fwd)

[Ramanan Selvaratnam]

[After searching mailbox for Newham this is the latest mail I could fond
so replying to it]

Reading the Europa OSS News! I found this...
http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/ida/jsps/index.jsp?fuseAction=showDocument&documentID=1974&parent=chapter&preChapterID=0-452-469

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London council ditches Linux plans

Open Source News – January 2004 – United Kingdom - Deployments

________________________________________________________________________

According to ZDNet, the Newham Borough is turning its back to open
source for security reasons and will deal with Microsoft instead. After
having conducted its own trials last year (see our previous article on
this issue) it appears that the migration would imply "unacceptable
level of risks". The council will continue to monitor open source
solutions but Richard Steel - head of ICT at Newham - feels that it
is premature to switch at this stage with such a complex environment.  

--------------------

:(


On Tue, 2003-12-16 at 10:21, Andrew Savory wrote:
> Another report ...
> 
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> > ---------- Forwarded Message ----------
> > Date: 15 December 2003 14:30 +0000
> > From: Dave Beckett <address@hidden>
> > To: address@hidden
> > Subject: Re: Brief report: OSS Watch launch conference.
[...]


> > First session - Deployment Track: Making the Institutional Case
> >
> >
> > Open Source on the Desktop - Andrew Findlay, Skills 1st Ltd
> >
> > [looks like a Netskills-related or derived consultancy]
> >
> > A quite sanguine report on deploying and promoting OSS on the
> > desktop.  Especially with Open Office.  Reference to the Secure Open
> > DEsktop Architecture (SODA) and the Open CD rpoject (theopencd.org)
> > who were handing out a CD of open source for WIndows.  Primarily this
> > was about linux desktops and the issues with applications that area
> > vailable, issues with migration.
> >
> > With reference to the Newham linux desktop rollout, the only
> > application that was not available was shared calendaring.  They also
> > found that most people when they said email, meant
> > email+calendaring+some groupware.  The only solution they could
> > advise was using Ximian Evolution on the desktiop with the exchange
> > 2000 plugin to an MS Exchange server.  

security hole!


> > Web based groupware works
> > adequately but is "not for GUI lovers".  (At present only Lotus Notes
> > really deals with this complete problem best.)  In future,
> > Mitch Kapor's Chandler may be the solution to watch.
> >
> > In deployment, they found it took 2 days to retrain general users
> > to use linux GUI and desktop applications - 1 day for the general
> > use and one day for the applications.  (German court of auditors).
> >
> > Problems
> > * "toys" - hardware and drivers which are just different; you need to
> >  carefly buy the right hardware (cameras, scanners, ...) to get them
> >  working under linux with no fuss.
> >
> > * "CV dilution" - MCSE trained staff scared of having their training
> >  becoming useless, fighting any change.
> >
> > Overall, interesting from somebody who's actually done it.  Some gaps
> > remain but it is possible and practical.

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