At 03:47 AM 12/29/97 -0800, you wrote:
[lots of linux-vs-microsoft stuff deleted, then:]
- The third party market for Linux software would grow rapidly and enormously. - The government's software budget would be reduced dramatically.
I consider both of these to be Good Things (tm). The government wouldn't be forcing anything at the point of a gun, they'd simply be making a financially responsible vendor selection (hey, there's a first time for everything). Our tax dollars shouldn't be wasted on substandard software when superior, cheaper alternatives exist.
i haven't touched unix or linux in a long time, but i submit that your ordinary GS-4 secretary can deal with microsoft word a lot more efficiently than s/he can deal with vi/emacs/latex. i assume there are better tools available on *ix platforms these days, which actually destroys my argument: do you really want the government to be more efficient? :-) peace, -landon