Microsoft make maximum possible profit from ordinary users, but can make much more from large organizations, so that is where hidden incentives go. Ordinary users buy magazines to help them choose where to spend their money and then sort problems, so there are plenty of adverts and articles about Microsoft products funded by their PR departments.I was amazed at the price quoted for the Microsoft Small Office software for a single machine restricted user server, which could be replaced using unrestricted free software without additional anti-virus packages. A few years ago Racal needed to update their system and were quoted over 1,000,000 pounds, so they bought a single boxed copy of RedHat Linux with manuals and switched the entire company to Linux.The general impression from organizations that have switched is that they require far fewer but better trained IT staff, and equipment costs are lower, with perhaps five back-office Microsoft machines replaced by a single Unix-compatible system.Ealing Council IT department does use Solaris, Linux, and other Unix compatibles, but claim they do not have sufficient trained IT staff to do a complete switch and do not appear willing to do anything about it. They are however watching other councils which are experimenting with Linux.
Chris Bell ● 4821d