On Monday 17 August 2009 9:30:34 am Paul Flint wrote: > > Greetings List Lurkers,
> > Additionally, if you could, please review the proposal I shared with
> > House Speaker Shap Smith last Friday.
Hi Paul - here's my .03
Seat licensing is different, and should be differienated from other costs, like
A/V, etc...
"and could offer great savings,..."
OR:
"and could offer great savings, including spending less or nothing for seat
licenses."
"... as well as create job opportunities for local technology providers."
Your para focuses on the M$ tax and can be presumed to be central to licenses,
if not specifically for just using the OS and pawndom:(
It seems to me that any job opportunities which may be created is only adjunct
to switching to Linux/BSD/Apple...
And, if the actual cost is the license, then the hidden costs to the M$ tax has
to be clearly connected
to other savings related to not using WindowsOS. That is not clearly
distinguished.
"Estimating an additional 1850 seats for consultants, contractors, other state
functionaries would allow us to estimate that there are 10,000.."
OR:
"To round up to a convienanent 10,000, we'll estimate another 1850 computers
running windows for ..... "
"Pentagon study discovered..." (citation needed)
"the Redmond Washington monopoly."
OR:
"the Redmond, Washington monopoly."
OR: (a softer tone)
who has enjoyed an 18 monopoly in Operating Systems.
"include the following yearly estimates of cost allocation:"
OR: (skip the table - actually save a table to illustrate, more effectively,
the side-by-side comparison)
"Using just the baseline workstation functions supplied by default to each
workstation, costs for
Virus and security protection (200.00), Microsoft Office (350.00), and Outlook
Electronic Mail (150.00)
comes to $700.00"
(Don't forget the costs of AD/AS, all IIS, etc...)
2SAVINGS
"BOSI believes that if...."
That para is too vague and non-descript.
I would distinguish here between OS and Application savings (license/maint on
each).
You could be able to say simply that there are Opensouce alternatives equally
capable, that would
eliminate the seat costs and drastically reduce maintanence costs. (Leaving
other issues than cost for another discussion)
"Other savings are available by electing not to use the Microsoft Operating
system. ...."
I would promote this para to the top of (2), arguing above, then qualify that
for those workstations
which require M$, VT could at least save on running alternative Applications.
"We conservatively believe that this cost savings might approach or exceed five
million dollars per year."
Don't be redundant, and lets not make this faith-based. Use "estimate".
3IMPLEMENTATION
We believe that if we appealed to the state employees with the proposition that
if they voluntarily chose to adopt open source systems in their individual
workstation configurations, workers adapting to this cost saving could
participate in the savings accrued in the form of additional take home pay,
either as a bonus or other monetary incentive award.
OR:
I do not believe that this can occur w/out a mandate from above; arguing on
change or layoffs. But I do like your notion.
"As an interim measure, it might be possible for the State of Vermont to offer
a voluntary "early adopter" option among it's employees to
switch Operating Systems or Applications, and receive a 1-time 'bonus' of 50%
seat cost savings." (for instance)
Advantages/Disadvantages
You need a Name/Label for your table, dude!
Personally, I don't agree with all your assertions or believe them to be
irrelevant, but
I would skip this table all together and just focus on advantages and elaborate
on each item.
1) Federal Support for Opensource
2) Increased job opportunities for vermonters
3) (refrain from using 'cutting edge' and cite other benes) FOSS has matured
and has a proven track record ......
4) Having the State adopt OpenSource (and Open Standards) would serve as a
model for the private sector
5) Bene's of having OS Options and Choice (multiple FOSS vendors) vs
noChoice/noOptions (M$)
6) Bene's of having Application Options and Choice vs ......
7) Omit
4CONCLUSION
(Sorry, but 1st: the tone of the para can be interpreted to look as if you're
pimping FOSS for a contract. And telling the PThatBe
whom to use. I think your ending might be off to a better start if you were
simply to offer something.
OR:
4RECOMMENDATION
"to coordinate this framework ...."
Its not (tech) a framework as much as a migration
"I would ask you for the time, either within the PSG framework, or otherwise to
refine this concept of throwing off the decades-long yolk of a monopoly. BOSI
proposes that the final work product be a detailed, conservative and business
like predictor of the hard savings that would be immediately available in the
mitigation or elimination of the Microsoft Tax on the State of Vermont."
OR:
BOSI requests that the State of Vermont allots the time to create a framework
which divests itself from the decades-long yolk under a computing monopoly. In
that time a final work product can result in a detailed, conservative and
business-like predictor of the hard savings that would be immediately available
in the mitigation to Opensource and the elimination of the Microsoft Tax on the
State of Vermont.
Now, be prepared to defend every one of your assertions w/citations, and, like
Alice's restaurant, 8X10 Glossy slides in your non-PPT
presentation:)
Rion
> >
> > Your comments and suggestions would be most appreciated. I would
> > particularly be interested in having a FOSS presence at the public
> > hearings tomorrow. A public hearing on the plan is set for 1 p.m. Aug. 18
> > at the Statehouse in Montpelier.
--
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"Politics is the art of looking for trouble,
finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly
and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho Marx
Marxism we all can believe in ;)
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