Re: [Fsfe-uk] BECTA discriminate against FLOSS?

[ian]

On Fri, 2004-01-02 at 01:30, Paul Tansom wrote:
> ** ian <address@hidden> [2003-12-24 10:42]:
> > > It is less obvious there is demand for a Linux based School
> > > Administration system, 
> > 
> > This is really a different issue. SIMS has a monopoly but CMIS is eating
> > into it and there is at least one FLOSS solution fairly well developed.
> > The problem is more that individual schools choose their admin packages
> > often directed by their LEAs, a lot of the cost of such admin is support
> > contracts anyway. Control over admin systems tends to be by people who
> > are unlikely to know anything about FLOSS and there are well-established
> > relationships between the likes of Capita and those responsible for
> > admin. OpenOffice.org is a much better candidate to get widely into
> > schools than specialist admin software because it will ultimately be
> > used by a lot more people for a much wider range of applications.
> 
> I'd be interested to know what the FLOSS solution you refer to is

Take a look at

http://www.schooltool.org/

> > You could potentially get a lot of support business, but it would be
> > very difficult/expensive to break into that particular market. Many have
> > tried and failed.
> 
> This is both the strength and weakness of FLOSS. If you have a popular
> 'product' and can build a strong team and user base you are laughing. If
> you looking at a more niche 'product' then the time to develop it has to
> be funded somehow (even coders have to eat!). 

Commercial licensed software has had just as much of a problem
combatting monopolies as FLOSS - more so I should think. Complexity
helps. If a FLOSS app is simple to implement its easy to replicate, if
its complex there is more scope to protect your investment. But if its
complex it takes more work. GNU/Linux distros survive on the complexity
thing with regular updates and revisions as a service to something that
has already had much of the R&D paid for. Its why I believe that for
things like the OS and general productivity tools with large scale take
up there is generally more scope for FLOSS and for specific specialist
apps, a lot less so. School admin. software is really relatively small
scale compared to a generic office suite.

I think some priorities are inevitable, and if I was in Government I
would look for particular gaps in mainstream operating system and
generic apps for the major public services and target funding on them
selectively as the most efficient way to contribute.
-- 
ian <address@hidden>