I think Ian has a key point in that in that we now have an acceptance that £80 for an Ofiice Suite and £50 for an OS is the norm. When I talk to my SMT about using open source software they pay m lip service but I can see they have no concept of what it is I am talking about. When I talk to me technicians and network manager, who have little or no real influence on the decisions of the system, they get very excited. To support my take on the debate so far (sorry TA but this is inately tied in to SuSE for schools), the decisions makers don't have a cluse about the technical issues and long-term implications of proprietary software. They make decisions based on comfort. That is what I know, that is what we have had, that is what we will have. I'm with Ian. If my forebears did not go on strike and cut up rough about the system that was, I would not have been able to go to school and improve my lot (they fought for a reduced week which I have yet to see :)) I can think of no other walk of life where we are so cmpacent as individuals. My students think it is quite "amusing" that they have to reboot Doze periodically. Leaving aside the issue we have discussed before that few of them have a legal copy of the software, they would be outraged if their mobile phones cut out mid conversation or if they were charged for extra services added to their phone without their consent. When our computer does not work we are told that the next version, which "only" costs £50 will make it work, we accept it as no big deal. It is I feel a very powerful layer of marketing and social acceptance that will be difficult, though not impossible, to overcome. Paul