"Newham Council's decision earlier this month to opt for
Microsoft, rather than open source technology, surprised many IT
professionals and angered open source advocates. It also
highlighted the complexity of deciding between proprietary and open
source software strategies
"When the council's head of ICT Richard Steel decided last year
to pit open source software against Microsoft products in a
prolonged trial it was seen as one of the most important tests yet
of the viability of alternatives to proprietary systems..."
