[ubuntu-us-ma] Promoting Ubuntu

[Bill Simonds]

I am trying to think up ways to promote Ubuntu. Here's a suggestion:
With both Federal government and state governments going broke, and
desperate to save money any way they can, it seems like free software
has the potential to save the govenment millions (billions?) of
dollars a year.

There are, collectively, millions of desktop computers in the
government offices, all of which could be using Ubuntu. So why aren't
they?

How 'bout this: set up a laptop with Ubuntu, and give it to governor
of Massachusetts Deval Patrick to use for a month. Convince him that
it can do anything Windows can do, better and millions of dollars
cheaper! We could work on switching a state over to free software as
an experiment to see if it could work for the Federal gov't.

If we could get the gov't to make the switch, it would do much to
raise awareness of Ubuntu. It would also help to ally fears that
Ubuntu is just for geeks and the technically inclined. Once people see
government workers mastering the software, they'll realize it must be
an easy transition!

I will venture a guess that Ubuntu will do anything windows can do,
and if there are any gaps they can be addressed by Canonical, etc.

It might even present an opportuntiy to some enterprising person(s)
because of all the labor that needs to be contracted out to make the
switch. Somebody has to go into these offices and install all the
software, provide training, and do after the switch service and
technical support. Big job for somebody.