simon@qec.carms.sch.uk
Personally, when something goes wrong, i know who to point the finger at and who to contact.
You may know who to point the finger at, but proprietary software suppliers often only have to help you if they feel so inclined. With a free software system, you would be able to shop on the open market for support. If your LEA supported it for you, they would be able to solve things themselves, or buy second (or third or further back) line support on the open market. In the transition, they can buy training for their support staff on the open market. Even if all the supporters go into a oligopoly(sp?), prices are likely to be lower than your current system's monopoly and new entrants can come into the market even then. When your current system is no longer supported, you may even find that your licence has termination clauses and you can be ordered to destroy all copies. I can't see why you wouldn't be looking at a viable free software system if it's developed. As it stands, it's not a ready alternative yet, but you should keep it in mind for the future. -- MJR http://mjr.towers.org.uk/ IM: slef@jabber.at This is my home web site. This for Jabber Messaging. How's my writing? Let me know via any of my contact details.