Linux and Microsoft Office

Linux and Microsoft Office

Posted Apr 28, 2003 3:06 UTC (Mon) by coriordan (guest, #7544)
In reply to: Linux and Microsoft Office by skybunny
Parent article: Myths of Linux on the Desktop (ZDNet)

> Linux will be less expensive than Windows because StarOffice/OpenOffice.org
> (or a presumably less-expensive-than-Office-alternative) must be used
> instead of Microsoft Office.

True, and this is a good thing. This nearly exposes one of the greatest benefits of Free Software. The problem is that all explanations to management will hide some of the benefits behind the term "OpenSource".

Imagine if every company that uses MS Word gave a quarter of it's annual cost of MS Word licenses to a group to work on OpenOffice? I bet they'd mostly want the same features, and I bet they'd get those features with plenty of money left over.

They could call it the "Business Software Alliance". Oh, hang on, that name is taken... reminds me of the Ministry of Plenty of George Orwells "1984".

When will the companies that *use* and purchase software rise up and realise that collectively they are hundreds of times bigger than the software industry that they kneel in front of?

Ciaran O'Riordan

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