eWeek: Maybe It's Time for a Change | Linux Today

eWeek: Maybe It’s Time for a Change

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Oct 23, 2001

[ Thanks to robt
for this link. ]

“We’ve heard the acronym/motto kiss: keep it simple,
stupid. Buried in that philosophy is another maxim of the IT
manager: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. For administrators and
end users alike, living by these credos can mean enduring things
like the instability of Windows 9x and the annoying Microsoft
Office mate Clippy (now deceased) and avoiding such complicated
tasks as upgrading platforms or switching apps—until it’s
absolutely necessary.

That time may be upon us. In a time of great change, changing
your computing infrastructure may seem too expensive, unnecessary
or, at best, a low priority. Consider, however, that such change
may be just what you need. Microsoft has made some of these
decisions easy with its new restrictive licensing plans and
aggressive marketing for Windows XP and Office XP. It insists we
need change, and many IT managers are accommodating the company in
ways Redmond may not appreciate.

…If new software is needed, but not the costs or headaches of
dealing with the new Microsoft licenses, some are taking renewed
looks at Linux and Sun’s StarOffice desktop productivity suite. Sun
notes that users downloaded the latest beta of StarOffice in record
numbers since it debuted earlier this month.”


Complete Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

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