Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

:D hmm, maybe! Here in trains they're implementing WiFi in. (On trainstations its there already), and busses have video already. The videos contain commercials mostly.

This was build earlier this decenia: bakscii. Not sure if I posted before. These folks also build their own (mobile) internet cafe, set up wireless WLAN in Croatia and Amsterdam East.

But these are fun projects. I think most devices will get some kind of WWAN in the coming years. Then you can play the games over the Internet, with your own server running on a 100 mbit FTTH, with optionally some kind of parental lock for your kids.

Its a matter of memory I suppose, and many started with Doom. Still, Quake 2 (with Lithium mod) and ET (original) are my fav all-time FPS.

Good luck with your job hunting!

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

That would be something to see, but believe me it's not easy.
I may be repeating myself here (can't remember), but over here we've been doing just that for the last few years.
I work in a (French) public administration which, despite much downsizing during the last couple of decades, is still about 70,000 strong nationwide.
Started like everywhere as semi-clandestine, local grassroots efforts, open source tools have become mandatory official policy since 2004.
In those four years we've replaced most proprietary software with OSS solutions :

MS Office --> OpenOffice
MS Exchange+Outlook --> LDAP, Postfix, IMAP, POP3, HORDE+Thunderbird
MSIE --> Firefox
Servers : MS NT4 --> Linux + Samba + LDAP
Intranets : IIS+ASP --> Apache + PHP CMS
Corporate apps : Web framework (Apache + Java +...)
Oracle --> PostgreSQL
etc.

There is a lot left to do still, especially with legacy apps, and the glaring hole of course is the desktop OS, which is still Windows, except for some hardened laptops. Like many we're skipping Vista though, and hoping it will give us the time and opportunity to launch a large-scale desktop switch-over.

Now for the lessons learned :

1 - you do this *for* the users, in more ways than one... but you do it *against* them, that's for sure. Weaning the typical office jock from his usual tools is a neverending uphill battle.

2 - corporate/federal/whatever policy does not guarantee a landslide, especially if the next government can change it again. When we got started there was an administration-wide "mot d'ordre", mostly based on financial gain. If you look around now, we're not alone : there are several other large ministries with big projects under way, and high-profile symbolic coups like our Parliament. But we're still not the majority either : resistance has been, and still is, immense.

Most of it I believe is simple inertia : these things take *work*, you know, sometimes imagination and creativity, or at least a vision, all of which are more of a hassle than dumping taxpayer money in Microsoft or Oracle's pockets :-)

Some of it is active infighting, ideological or political, fueled by active lobbying. Our new administration is a bit schizophrenic in the sense that it is an active cost-cutter, to the point of brutality, yet is very receptive to big business interests. In particular, efforts had been made to turn these OSS "recommendations" into binding regulations for public services ; the decrees were ready but were not signed before the elections last year, and nothing more has been heard of them since.

Seeing the power of US software majors in our political and business circles, I wonder if even the American President could have his way inside his own administration...

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

fpp I agree with every point to an extent, but we now have a president not only promising significant change but mandated to bring it about. Just as "only Nixon could go to China", maybe it holds that "only Obama can bring open source overhaul to federal government". ;)

Oh, and it would be great if everyone's comments were made on the blog. :D I can copy the ones here if you guys like, or just link to them as I did for allnameswereout.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Well, I'd certainly like to see him try at least, and wish him well : after all he'd set a useful example for others, and he couldn't fail *entirely*, now could he ? :-)
Just did it myself, for that special touch of authenticity :-)

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Hey, if you search on 2009 +obama +"open source" my article is #6 hit on Google! Whoo hoo!

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

If you search

maemo +obama +"open source"

Your article is the number one hit (via planet maemo).

And if you search,

tablet +obama +"open source"

The post where you say,

is the number one hit! Now that is recursive!

:D

EDIT: Even weirder, I just ran that second search again, and now THIS post is the #1 hit. AUGH! Too much self-reference!

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

MS Exchange+Outlook --> LDAP, Postfix, IMAP, POP3, HORDE+Thunderbird <- Zarafa

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

hmm, those + before any secondary search words seems to do nada for the end result...

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Nope, we weren't looking for an Exchange replacement, our solution is 100% free - no Outlook, no MAPI and no licences :-)

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Old habit, and it actually has made a difference in some of my searches.