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| < < | Non-profit organizations increasingly depend on computers to help with day-to-day activities. Computers are very useful devices, but they are expensive and don't usually work well, thus taking time away from the organization's principal goals. An organization like TecsChange can help other organizations by providing computers and especially technical support to allow them to focus on their core goals. | |||||||
| > > | Non-profit organizations increasingly depend on computers to help with day-to-day activities. Computers are very useful devices, but they are expensive and don't usually work well, thus taking time away from the organization's principal goals. An organization like TecsChange can help other organizations by providing computers and especially technical support to allow them to focus on their core goals. | |||||||
| TecsChange has traditionally been a provider of "wintel" equipment and expertise, i.e. they specialize in Microsoft operating systems running on PC-compatible machines. This is a good choice because the hardware is reliable and inexpensive and the software is very commonly used in commercial environments. PC-compatible hardware has very few disadvantages relative to the alternatives, but Microsoft software brings several problems along with its benefits. The most important problem is cost: Microsoft products are expensive and getting more so. Another important problem, though, is control. Microsoft has increasingly tried through various mechanisms (technical and legal) to take control away from the users. For example, the license to use Microsoft operating systems has consistently become more rigid and intrusive as the operating systems became more expensive in terms of cost and hardware requirements. Microsoft's development and support of "Digital Rights Management" also indicate that their overall strategy is to become more closely involved in how people use their computers. | ||||||||
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| So what's the next step? Using a new operating system is not a task to be taken lightly. We need to plan thoroughly - what software to use, how to configure it, how to support it, etc. | ||||||||
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| > > | References
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html - the GNU Free Software manifesto http://www.linux-mag.com/2003-01/palladium_01.html - information on Microsoft's "Trusted Computing" efforts. http://orange.math.buffalo.edu/csc/resolution2_april2003_approved.html - SUNY Buffalo faculty senate resolution in favor of Open Source software http://www.debian.org/ - the Debian GNU/Linux distribution | |||||||
-- TobyCabot - 13 Apr 2003
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