debate about Free software for the ACT Government

Simon Fowler simon at himi.org
Thu Apr 25 01:02:43 EST 2002


On Wed, Apr 24, 2002 at 10:01:49PM +1000, Doug Palmer wrote:
> 
> On 2002.04.24 23:03 Alex Satrapa wrote:
> >At 09:43  23/04/02 +1000, Doug Palmer wrote:
> >>Benefit of being able to make proficiency in something part of the job 
> >>criteria.
> >
> >Compaq produced the A+ certification, which is a level below a MCSA (I'm 
> >not sure I'm usign the right words here).
> 
> I was actually thinking more on the application side. For an 
> archaeologist, say, having "familiar with Microsoft Office" in a set of 
> selection criteria doesn't sound too unreasonable. But "familiar with 
> OpenOffice" seems like a bit of hurdle. Being able to do this cuts down on 
> the amount of time and resources needed to get someone up and working.
> 
It'd be /really/ nice if it was possible to say "familiar with
general word processing techniques", rather than "familiar with
$wordprocessor" . . . And I think that's probably what we should be
aiming for: not a wholesale migration towards Free Software, but
opening up the possibility of using something other than MS
software. 

Once that possibility is really available, the Free Software stuff
will win or lose on it's merits. As it stands, that's just not
possible . . . 

The nice thing is, that's also an easier thing for politicians to
stomach - "Pick the best tool for the job", rather than "Use Free
Software, 'cause it's ideologically sound!"

Simon

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