Linux Format forums

[daudi]

In LXF147 on page 108 you said that in the next issue there would be an article on linux in the public sector. I have not been able to find it in LXF148 and was wondering if I missed it or if it was dropped from the issue.

I fully understand that factors such as playing tennis with Terry Thomas can affect when articles are ready for publication, and that getting the numbers right for something like this is a non-trivial exercise, so I am not complaining. My particular interest in this article is that I am about to join the public sector in England (NHS) and have no idea how easy it will be for me to convince the NHS BOFH to allow me to use linux.

(As an aside, I tried to use windows at work a few years ago. I managed two weeks, got too frustrated, then installed linux. In the job I am leaving we all have the same spec hardware. My machine (with linux) is solid and runs quickly; my colleagues running windows are always complaining about their machines being slow and often locking up.)

There have been a number of good comments by commenters on The Register www.theregister.co.uk over the last year or so about why linux is so hard to introduce into an organisation like the NHS, largely revolving around providing support on a large scale and sysadmins only knowing how to administer windows machines. But I haven't seen an article that examines the issue carefully.

I think an article on linux in the public sector would be very interesting and useful. From a personal perspective, as well as an examination of the cost-effectiveness of using linux in the public sector, I would like to hear about where it is already in use and who the advocates on the inside are who might be able to act as champions or provide 'political' support for further use of linux.

[nordle]