jon said "Departmental staff have NO understanding of technology, and more importantly don't WANT to understand it... Hell, they have "jobs for life", why make waves ?"
not any more jon!! i've sat on several senior staff contract review panels (a panel is usually 3 people.) most senior doe execs are now on contract. if they don't shape up the contract isn't renewed. they are terrified, esp if there is a 'techo' on the review panel!! they need friends, they need to keep up with technology & they know it!! annm ************************************ Ann Moffatt EXoCaT Pty Ltd 49 Raintree Avenue BURRUM HEADS QLD 4659 tel +61 (0) 7 4129 5796 fax +61 (0) 7 4129 5916 *********************************** ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Jeff Waugh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "Howard Lowndes" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Mail List - LINK" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Mail List - SLUG" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, July 29, 2002 4:49 PM Subject: Re: [LINK] Re: [SLUG] NSW DET to be urged to use OSS > > Geez, guys - get a life... It's called HUMOR !!! > > Like Ann, I have had a large-ish involvement with DoE, and I stand by my > previous comment - the large portion of the Departmental staff have NO > understanding of technology, and more importantly don't WANT to understand > it... Hell, they have "jobs for life", why make waves ? > > Personally, any education we could give them would be very worthwhile - but > don't expect miracles, and certainly not overnight..... > > Hence my comment about "thought and planning" - don't forget, we (SLUG, or the > Linux community at large) don't have the $$$ that M$ do to blind them with, so > any argument we can mount will have to be logical, well-defined, and achievable > without a degree in rocket science..... > > Otherwise we'll get walked all over... Sure, you will get individual schools, > where the staff are Linux-aware, on-side (Orange High is one such), but the > majority will just toe the Departmental line - I've even heard from one school > that they were told whatever money from their allocation they DIDN'T spend on > Microsoft licences would be removed from the next allotment... > > That's the sort of mentality we have to deal with - and it's on two levels... > > 1. Back end - servers, administrative databases, etc. Largely "set and forget" > stuff. > > 2. Workstation / desktop - familiar look and feel, minimal learning curve, and > functional. > > It goes without saying that we will have more success with 1 than 2, at least > in the short term. > > I'm open to suggestions / discussions on how we can achieve this, or at least > get our collective feet in the door(s). > > Jon > > P.S. Maybe a cricket bat instead ??? > > > > > I think this is a great opportunity to get a government department to > > > listen, so could be dispense with the flippancy and turn to something more > > > constructive. A close acquaintance of mine launched this initiative so > > > "carpe diem". > > > > Thanks Howard, that was the possibly-too-subtle point of my query. :-) > > > > Would you and said acquaintance be available to meet with the SLUG committee > > at some stage in the next week? > > > > Thanks, > > > > - Jeff > > > > -- > > Echidnas, or at least the ones I've met, don't have joy. Adults very > > rarely have joy. Kids have hyperkinetic nuclear joy in abundance. > > -- > > SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group - http://slug.org.au/ > > More Info: http://lists.slug.org.au/listinfo/slug > > > > > > ---------- > For Link list information see http://sunsite.anu.edu.au/link/ -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group - http://slug.org.au/ More Info: http://lists.slug.org.au/listinfo/slug
