My 0.02c is simply that Microsoft are a company who are compteting with us, and we need to take that competition seriously and with maturity. I believe MS has created some good products, and credit should go to where credit is due. Microsoft are not some evil force that can rule the world
They have been found to have broken the law, including abuse of monoploy position more than once. But the most powerful government in the world (which is quite happy to exterminate the governments of nations they don't like) appears utterly powerless in this situation. An organisation which can repeatedly put 2 fingers up to a US federal court and get told "we'll tell you to be nice for 5 years and if you don't we'll tell you for 7 years". IMHO isn't too far off ruling the world.
- they have such a monopoly through tough business practices and also
There are "tough business practices" and there is breaking the law. (Also when a business uses the business practices of a gangster shouldn't it be treated the same way as a business set up bg gangsters?) It's also very difficult for anyone to compete with someone who "cheats" (and isn't punished).
(believe it or not) through some decent products.
Which products do you think are good, why do you think they are good? Also do you still think they are good for the environment of a school.
As Linux folk we need to attempt to prove that Linux is a viable option, but to do this we *need* to believe this. If someone feels Linux has lots of flaws and is not viable then I suggest that person does not feel
Lots of flaws does not necessarily imply "not viable". It's more a question of can the "flaws" be addressed, IME changing how open source software works is far easier than with closed source. -- Mark Evans St. Peter's CofE High School Phone: +44 1392 204764 X109 Fax: +44 1392 204763