[sf-lug] Fwd: [school-discuss] Fwd: A Landmark Announcement

[jim stockford]

(this responds to an earlier message from a city college
administrator with respect to costs implications, given
that they're currently using Novell NOC and thinking of
increasing Linux visibility on campus.)

Begin forwarded message:

> To: schoolforge-discuss at schoolforge.net
> Subject: Re: [school-discuss] Fwd: A Landmark Announcement
> Reply-To: schoolforge-discuss at schoolforge.net
>
> Perhaps 'hedge your bets' is a better strategy than 'boycott Novell' 
> in your case.  Most people, even non-technical ones, will agree when 
> you say that many/most companies that allied with MS eventually get 
> absorbed or stabbed in the back--in either case, they go away.  
> Considering all that MS has said about Linux, there's no reason to 
> consider this deal will be any different.  Perhaps it won't turn out 
> bad for Novell.  But what your school needs to be doing is thinking 
> strategically, such that if Novell does end up in a bad position as a 
> result of this deal, your school and its technology plan aren't in a 
> position that suddenly becomes very expensive.

> The diversity of Linux distributions is one of its strengths.  If one 
> vendor does something that isn't in your best interest, you can move 
> to another fairly easily.

> If MS or Apple do something that's good for them at your expense, and 
> your technology plan is built around them, it's difficult to change, 
> meaning you sigh, and then increase class size so you can eliminate a 
> teacher to pay for MS's or Apple's price increase.  The point is to be 
> thinking NOW about where you want to be in two or three years so that 
> if  Novell does collapse, you can say "Good thing we made those 
> changes back in 2006 such that Novell's demise/MS's tightening 
> restrictions/price increase doesn't affect us."  One could argue that 
> this MS/Novell deal gives you a real opportunity to convince your 
> colleagues of the danger of your 'full investment in Novell' and the 
> need to move away from such mono-culture, as it provides you with an 
> occasion to remind people of how these deals usually play out, and how 
> your school should take steps to make sure it's not on the short end 
> of such an agreement.
>
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