[TriLUG] Fwd: Sign this Petition - Explain why taxpayers pay out billions to Microsoft and get nothing in return, while Linux is free!

[Nathan Yinger]

As much as I'd like to see more open source software in government, it's
not accurate to suggest money could be saved by changing regular desktops
over to Linux.  That would lead to enormous expenses in user training and
confusion.  You can't just give millions of workers a new system they've
never seen before and tell them 'Linux is easier to use than it used to be,
just spend some time on Google'.

There are many other areas where open source software could be used more
practically: the numerous areas highlighted in the opensource.com article
linked earlier, initiatives like Raleigh's policy requiring IT to consider
open source options, and relatively simple software to adopt such as
LibreOffice or Firefox/Chrome.


On Sat, Apr 27, 2013 at 1:01 PM, Steve Litt <slitt at troubleshooters.com>wrote:

> Jeremy,
>
> If the petition consisted only of the first sentence, I would have
> signed it instantly. But when the petition veers into spending taxpayer
> dollars paying for Linux development, that opens a huge can of worms.
> That gets us into alternatives for those dollars, whether those
> alternatives are to roll back the recent tax rate increase on those
> earning over a mil a year, or providing subsidized childcare so a
> single woman can go back to work. I just don't want to get into that
> battle, at least not over Linux.
>
> SteveT
>
> On Sat, 27 Apr 2013 08:33:14 -0400
> Jeremy Davis <jeremyhwllc at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I am just saying the tax payers are a victims of vendor lock in,
> > highlighting Microsoft as a prime beneficiary.
> > On Apr 27, 2013 5:20 AM, "Steve Litt" <slitt at troubleshooters.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Jeremy,
> > >
> > > It sounds like you're saying that the government is funding M$ R&D,
> > > over and above the money the government pays for software. Is that
> > > what you're saying?
> > >
> > > SteveT
> > >
> > > On Fri, 26 Apr 2013 23:59:13 -0400
> > > Jeremy Davis <jeremyhwllc at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Dear friends,
> > > >
> > > > I wanted to let you know about a new petition I created on We the
> > > > People, a new feature on WhiteHouse.gov, and ask for your support.
> > > > Will you add your name to mine?  If this petition gets 100,000
> > > > signatures by May 26, 2013, the White House will review it and
> > > > respond!
> > > >
> > > > We the People allows anyone to create and sign petitions asking
> > > > the Obama Administration to take action on a range of issues.  If
> > > > a petition gets enough support, the Obama Administration will
> > > > issue an official response.
> > > >
> > > > You can view and sign the petition here:
> > > >
> > > > http://wh.gov/tdGA
> > > >
> > > > Here's some more information about this petition:
> > > >
> > > > Explain why taxpayers pay out billions to Microsoft and get
> > > > nothing in return, while Linux is free.
> > > >
> > > > Explain why taxpayers pay out billions to Microsoft and get
> > > > nothing in return, while Linux is free. In contrast, using tax
> > > > dollars to pay for research and improvements to Linux, as well as
> > > > free open source software in general, would benefit everyone.
> > > > When taxpayers pay for roads everyone benefits because everyone
> > > > can drive on them. This is not the case with proprietary
> > > > software,such as Microsoft, because taxpayers cannot use the
> > > > software that is paid for by tax dollars. However, it would
> > > > benefit the taxpaying public if open source software, such as
> > > > Linux, were used for everyday government computing. Any tax
> > > > dollars spent on research for patches, upgrades, and improvements
> > > > would be shared benefits for all Americans who can simply
> > > > download and use Linux anytime for free.
> --
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