Windows Vista OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

  • Thread starter Thread starter Moshe Goldfarb
  • Start date Start date
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....


"Hadron" <hadronquark@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:fs0k85$kgf$7@registered.motzarella.org...

>> I just talked to a woman working for her husband's small business, and
>> she brought up OpenOffice. With regret, because she'd already purchased
>> an expensive Microsoft product. And was having a hard time figuring out
>> how to make it do what she wanted (mail-merge, I think).
>
> You "think"? More lies.
>
> So how did she do it with OO?

Don't know how she did, but the CIO where I work just gave the order they
want 25 volunters to start using OpenOffice. It is been evaluated for an
open rollout corporate wide. If it happens, 12000 Office liceses hit the
bucket.

>> There is a lot of nice open-source software out there. Why pay big
>> bucks unless you have to? Getting the word out is key.
>
> No. Getting it working properly is key.

Funny, it is so fast to install and works right off of the download without
issues. No 30 day licensing nor credit card issues either.

I really like the ability to save PDF files....and ability to save in
formats that work on other than Microsoft Office equipped machines.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

In article <k2SEj.103191$pM4.20979@pd7urf1no>,
Canuck57 <dave-no.spam4me@unixhome.net> wrote:
>
>formats that work on other than Microsoft Office equipped machines.
>

Heretic. You'll burn in hell for that.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

"the wharf rat" <wrat@panix.com> wrote in message
news:frvqim$hqn$1@reader2.panix.com...
>>
>>And in both cases the makers of the programs - OO and FF - have shown they
>>realize the benefit of making apps that fit the paradigms of Windows or
>>Mac.
>
> Ummm, dude? The "browser" thing was invented on Unix. SunOS,
> I seem to recall.


Not quite. Tim Berners-Lee made it on NeXT.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldWideWeb

ss.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....



"Canuck57" <dave-no.spam4me@unixhome.net> wrote in message
news:k2SEj.103191$pM4.20979@pd7urf1no...
>
> "Hadron" <hadronquark@googlemail.com> wrote in message
> news:fs0k85$kgf$7@registered.motzarella.org...
>
>>> I just talked to a woman working for her husband's small business, and
>>> she brought up OpenOffice. With regret, because she'd already purchased
>>> an expensive Microsoft product. And was having a hard time figuring out
>>> how to make it do what she wanted (mail-merge, I think).
>>
>> You "think"? More lies.
>>
>> So how did she do it with OO?
>
> Don't know how she did,

So just meaningless FUD then, what a surprise.

> but the CIO where I work just gave the order they want 25 volunters to
> start using OpenOffice. It is been evaluated for an open rollout
> corporate wide. If it happens, 12000 Office liceses hit the bucket.

Waste of cash already spent.. anyone done a proper cost-benefit analysis?

>
>>> There is a lot of nice open-source software out there. Why pay big
>>> bucks unless you have to? Getting the word out is key.
>>
>> No. Getting it working properly is key.
>
> Funny, it is so fast to install and works right off of the download
> without issues. No 30 day licensing nor credit card issues either.

No 30 day issues with M$ office either, if you buy it that is.
>
> I really like the ability to save PDF files....and ability to save in
> formats that work on other than Microsoft Office equipped machines.

Like in word format.. you did say OO worked with word format so M$ office
format works on any machine OO runs on.


BTW I have just deleted OO from my machines, I just don't like it. Java is
so slow.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....


"Synapse Syndrome" <synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote in message
news:%234xfxk3iIHA.5724@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> "the wharf rat" <wrat@panix.com> wrote in message
> news:frvqim$hqn$1@reader2.panix.com...
>>>
>>>And in both cases the makers of the programs - OO and FF - have shown
>>>they
>>>realize the benefit of making apps that fit the paradigms of Windows or
>>>Mac.
>>
>> Ummm, dude? The "browser" thing was invented on Unix. SunOS,
>> I seem to recall.
>
>
> Not quite. Tim Berners-Lee made it on NeXT.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldWideWeb
>
> ss.

gopher, UNIX. Browsers were hardly a new idea.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

In article <#4xfxk3iIHA.5724@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl>,
Synapse Syndrome <synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:
>
>Not quite. Tim Berners-Lee made it on NeXT.
>

NextSTEP was built on a Unix kernel, MACH, actually.

That's MACH not MAC :-)
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

"the wharf rat" <wrat@panix.com> wrote in message
news:fs18bv$n1u$1@reader2.panix.com...
>>
>>Not quite. Tim Berners-Lee made it on NeXT.
>>
>
> NextSTEP was built on a Unix kernel, MACH, actually.
>
> That's MACH not MAC :-)
>

Yeah, I know. That's why I said 'not quite', as in not SunOS/Solaris.

ss.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

"Canuck57" <dave-no.spam4me@unixhome.net> wrote in message
news:twVEj.103318$w94.66337@pd7urf2no...
>>>
>>> Ummm, dude? The "browser" thing was invented on Unix. SunOS,
>>> I seem to recall.
>>
>>
>> Not quite. Tim Berners-Lee made it on NeXT.
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WorldWideWeb
>>
>
> gopher, UNIX. Browsers were hardly a new idea.


I doubt that the term 'browsers' came about until www browsers. I used to
use Gopher clients when I first got onto the internet at university in 1994,
and it was only after a while that I realised what a browser was. I
initially thought it meant the user.

ss.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

* chrisv peremptorily fired off this memo:

> I'll grant there are a couple of linux desktops, what's it up to now, a
> hundred?
> (I'm being generous.)

No, you're being stupid, nym-stealer.

--
"Microsoft has had competitors in the past. It's a good thing we have
museums to document this stuff."
-- Bill Gates, in a talk at the Computer History Museum
in Mountain View, Calif.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

Linonut wrote:
> * chrisv peremptorily fired off this memo:
>
>> I'll grant there are a couple of linux desktops, what's it up to
>> now, a hundred?
>> (I'm being generous.)
>
> No, you're being stupid, nym-stealer.

PKB.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

In article <eHwhan5iIHA.1184@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>,
Synapse Syndrome <synapse@NOSPAMsyndrome.me.uk> wrote:
>
>Yeah, I know. That's why I said 'not quite', as in not SunOS/Solaris.
>

Oh, sorry, I thought you meant "Not quite unix"

I wonder why I always think of Mozaic as a SunOS thing?
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

"the wharf rat" <wrat@panix.com> wrote in message
news:fs1ut5$r3o$1@reader2.panix.com...
>>
>>Yeah, I know. That's why I said 'not quite', as in not SunOS/Solaris.
>>
>
> Oh, sorry, I thought you meant "Not quite unix"
>
> I wonder why I always think of Mozaic as a SunOS thing?

It was cross platform, but maybe it did start off on SunOS, as it started on
Unix. It was only the first popular browser - not the first. My personal
perspective sees Mosaic as a Windows 3.11 thing, with a JANET homepage.

ss.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

* chrisv peremptorily fired off this memo:

> Linonut wrote:
>> * chrisv peremptorily fired off this memo:
>>
>>> I'll grant there are a couple of linux desktops, what's it up to
>>> now, a hundred?
>>> (I'm being generous.)
>>
>> No, you're being stupid, nym-stealer.
>
> PKB.

Why are you increasing your stupidity, forger?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panstwowy_Korpus_Bezpieczenstwa

(Let's see what this mental midget makes of that.)

--
If you show people the problems and you show people the solutions they will be
moved to act.
-- Bill Gates, At Live8 (2 July 2005) as reported in BBC News (4 July 2005)
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....


"dennis@home" <dennis@killspam.kicks-ass.net> wrote in message
news:elPz$O4iIHA.2084@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

>> but the CIO where I work just gave the order they want 25 volunters to
>> start using OpenOffice. It is been evaluated for an open rollout
>> corporate wide. If it happens, 12000 Office liceses hit the bucket.
>
> Waste of cash already spent.. anyone done a proper cost-benefit analysis?

I don't know the numbers, specifically what MS per seat cost, but know that
amount times 12,000 has people motivated. We are looking at a technology
refresh near year end. And even if we could get Office 2007 for say $100 a
seat, thats a cool $1.2M to the bottom line. Not much ROI calculations
needed.

It also has a very low risk factor. If we change our mind, and some
business person justified $1.2 million, or whatever it takes, then Office
2007. But given the economics of our environment, doubtful and the PCs we
need to replace are old and starting to cost too much.

If you are incinuating training as an issue, it isn't. Many of those users
are using Word 2000!! So going to OO or 2007 isn't going to make a smack of
difference in learning curves.

>> I really like the ability to save PDF files....and ability to save in
>> formats that work on other than Microsoft Office equipped machines.
>
> Like in word format.. you did say OO worked with word format so M$ office
> format works on any machine OO runs on.

The best part of OO is going to be our Linux/UNIX servers and development is
going to be able to use the UNIX API's to create and email reports.

> BTW I have just deleted OO from my machines, I just don't like it. Java is
> so slow.

You are entitled. And didn't cost you a cent to try did it? No 30 day
limitation either.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....


"Canuck57" <dave-no.spam4me@unixhome.net> wrote in message
news:gV9Fj.105826$w94.66626@pd7urf2no...
>
> "dennis@home" <dennis@killspam.kicks-ass.net> wrote in message
> news:elPz$O4iIHA.2084@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>
>>> but the CIO where I work just gave the order they want 25 volunters to
>>> start using OpenOffice. It is been evaluated for an open rollout
>>> corporate wide. If it happens, 12000 Office liceses hit the bucket.
>>
>> Waste of cash already spent.. anyone done a proper cost-benefit
>> analysis?
>
> I don't know the numbers, specifically what MS per seat cost, but know
> that amount times 12,000 has people motivated. We are looking at a
> technology refresh near year end. And even if we could get Office 2007
> for say $100 a seat, thats a cool $1.2M to the bottom line. Not much ROI
> calculations needed.

I'm sure the people in charge do know the numbers and hopefully they aren't
as penny-wise and pound-foolish as you are. It does take manpower and time
to convert 12,000 installations and to train them on the new software. Plus
porting any apps they have which rely on MS-Office.

And this huge cost savings... let's assume that each of these 12,000
workers earns a "whopping" $30k per year salary. (We'll ignore benefits,
office space, utilities and all that.) Just the salary for these $30k/year
employees works out to $360 million a year. The cost of $1.2 million for
software that they'll be using for the next 3-4 years is a drop in the
bucket.


> It also has a very low risk factor. If we change our mind, and some
> business person justified $1.2 million, or whatever it takes, then Office
> 2007. But given the economics of our environment, doubtful and the PCs
> we need to replace are old and starting to cost too much.
>
> If you are incinuating training as an issue, it isn't. Many of those
> users are using Word 2000!! So going to OO or 2007 isn't going to make a
> smack of difference in learning curves.
>
>>> I really like the ability to save PDF files....and ability to save in
>>> formats that work on other than Microsoft Office equipped machines.
>>
>> Like in word format.. you did say OO worked with word format so M$
>> office format works on any machine OO runs on.
>
> The best part of OO is going to be our Linux/UNIX servers and development
> is going to be able to use the UNIX API's to create and email reports.
>
>> BTW I have just deleted OO from my machines, I just don't like it. Java
>> is so slow.
>
> You are entitled. And didn't cost you a cent to try did it? No 30 day
> limitation either.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....



"Canuck57" <dave-no.spam4me@unixhome.net> wrote in message
news:gV9Fj.105826$w94.66626@pd7urf2no...
>
> "dennis@home" <dennis@killspam.kicks-ass.net> wrote in message
> news:elPz$O4iIHA.2084@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>
>>> but the CIO where I work just gave the order they want 25 volunters to
>>> start using OpenOffice. It is been evaluated for an open rollout
>>> corporate wide. If it happens, 12000 Office liceses hit the bucket.
>>
>> Waste of cash already spent.. anyone done a proper cost-benefit analysis?
>
> I don't know the numbers, specifically what MS per seat cost, but know
> that amount times 12,000 has people motivated.

Why when its already spent? They aren't saving anything, at best they are
increasing costs.
Is there nobody with any sense running the project?

> We are looking at a technology refresh near year end.

Well the cost of office doesn't come into that.. you just buy a new windows
machine and put it back on.

> And even if we could get Office 2007 for say $100 a seat, thats a cool
> $1.2M to the bottom line. Not much ROI calculations needed.

As I said you already have M$ office why do you think you need to buy it
again?
Who is in charge of this mess?

>
> It also has a very low risk factor.

The way you describe it I would say it has a very high risk factor!

> If we change our mind, and some business person justified $1.2 million, or
> whatever it takes, then Office 2007. But given the economics of our
> environment, doubtful and the PCs we need to replace are old and starting
> to cost too much.
>
> If you are incinuating training as an issue, it isn't. Many of those
> users are using Word 2000!! So going to OO or 2007 isn't going to make a
> smack of difference in learning curves.

So carry on using word 2000, if it does the job why change?

>
>>> I really like the ability to save PDF files....and ability to save in
>>> formats that work on other than Microsoft Office equipped machines.
>>
>> Like in word format.. you did say OO worked with word format so M$ office
>> format works on any machine OO runs on.
>
> The best part of OO is going to be our Linux/UNIX servers and development
> is going to be able to use the UNIX API's to create and email reports.

Be careful you could end up with something non portable. ;-)

>
>> BTW I have just deleted OO from my machines, I just don't like it. Java
>> is so slow.
>
> You are entitled. And didn't cost you a cent to try did it?

It cost time, time is money.

> No 30 day limitation either.

Why do you have this thing about 30 days?

>
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

Linonut wrote:
> * chrisv peremptorily fired off this memo:
>
>> Linonut wrote:
>>> * chrisv peremptorily fired off this memo:
>>>
>>>> I'll grant there are a couple of linux desktops, what's it up to
>>>> now, a hundred?
>>>> (I'm being generous.)
>>>
>>> No, you're being stupid, nym-stealer.
>>
>> PKB.
>
> Why are you increasing your stupidity, forger?
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panstwowy_Korpus_Bezpieczenstwa
>
> (Let's see what this mental midget makes of that.)

..........................^^^ "this" implies YOU. Apt.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

In article <A36614CD-A8E5-45BA-A67D-813FF0BAA77B@microsoft.com>,
"dennis@home" <dennis@killspam.kicks-ass.net> wrote:
> >>> but the CIO where I work just gave the order they want 25 volunters to
> >>> start using OpenOffice. It is been evaluated for an open rollout
> >>> corporate wide. If it happens, 12000 Office liceses hit the bucket.
> >>
> >> Waste of cash already spent.. anyone done a proper cost-benefit analysis?
> >
> > I don't know the numbers, specifically what MS per seat cost, but know
> > that amount times 12,000 has people motivated.
>
> Why when its already spent? They aren't saving anything, at best they
> are increasing costs. Is there nobody with any sense running the
> project?

Doesn't it depend on the license terms? If they paid a one-time fee for
12000 seats, good forever, and good for all future versions, than yeah,
they save no money dropping Office for OpenOffice.

However, if the licenses require periodic renewal, or if they need to
buy new licenses to cover new versions, than switching to a different
program with lower licensing cost will save them money.

The correct way to do such a switch is indeed the way it was described
above. A small number of people doing an initial test, and then you
roll it out everywhere (assuming the test worked!), doing this while
your current licenses are still valid, so that if something goes wrong,
you can fall back to Office. You want to be off of Office and fully
onto the alternative *before* your current licenses run out.


--
--Tim Smith
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....

In article <47e5212f$0$26115$88260bb3@free.teranews.com>,
Ezekiel <a@b.com> wrote:
>
>The cost of $1.2 million for
>software that they'll be using for the next 3-4 years is a drop in the
>bucket.
>

Software is a capital expenditure and impacts the bottom line in
a different way than salaries do. One reason is the way taxes work.
 
Re: OLPC Project is Falling Apart...As Predicted.....



"the wharf rat" <wrat@panix.com> wrote in message
news:fs47hp$7rb$1@reader2.panix.com...
> In article <47e5212f$0$26115$88260bb3@free.teranews.com>,
> Ezekiel <a@b.com> wrote:
>>
>>The cost of $1.2 million for
>>software that they'll be using for the next 3-4 years is a drop in the
>>bucket.
>>
>
> Software is a capital expenditure and impacts the bottom line in
> a different way than salaries do. One reason is the way taxes work.
>
>

Software is revenue.. it has no re-sale value like a capital investment and
doesn't depreciate over time like a capital investment.
 
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