On Fri, May 02, 2003 at 10:12:05AM +0100, Richard Rothwell wrote:
Hi All,
I think that we need to step back for a moment and look at this with a longer perspective. Here are a few random thoughts....
1. I don't think anyone is suggesting that many schools need to move to the free admin software immediately;
Where the alternative is spending lots of money on new hardware in order to run the "next generation" of SIMS an alternative which dosn't require wholesale hardware replacement looks very good.
2. This project is opening doors for people and allowing more choice;
3. There is a good philosophical and moral arguement for paying for support - not for the coding;
Also for payment to be made locally, rather than to a foreign company thousands of miles away.
4. Openess about coding and file formats has to be a good idea;
If nothing else it would bring down the costs related to support. Both by allowing competition and reducing the need for people to try and work out how something actually works.
5. The users might have some good ideas about what is needed and how it should be implemented;
Something which often appears lacking right now. -- Mark Evans St. Peter's CofE High School Phone: +44 1392 204764 X109 Fax: +44 1392 204763