[plug] MS Office and TCO

[Leon Brooks]

SweenyTod wrote:
> At 08:38 AM 11/09/2000, you wrote:
>> Bradley Woodward wrote:
>>> I'm very close to having permission to put a linux box into the department
>>> for more than just evaluation purposes.

>> Would they be sad if you quietly wedged a little '486 box (say, in a nice
>> thin Osborne case like the one behind me) under your monitor and plugged
>> it into the network?

> Our internet gateway, web proxy (squid) and firewall all run on a P200
> running RH Linux, so we're in that situation now.

Next step is to add another box. For testing things, is the official excuse. Are
there any other P200s lying around? Put up a webserver on it, hello intranet,
give everyone a default page, including link to simple instructions for
uupdating their page.

Put up MRTG and graph some things. Network traffic, web traffic, squid useage,
percentage of email containing images... it matters not. Add Sympa and put a few
mailing lists on it (compete with the Exchange box), you know, social clubs,
interest groups (cricket fans, whatever), that kind of thing.

See if you an make it "indispensible" by stealth. (-:

> Cost.  It's amazing how uncomfortable people are paying nothing for
> something.

Meet your new retailer. Of anything. (-:

If you like, I'll invoice you reasonable-sounding amounts for stuff and donate
the bulk of it to the authors. Kill at least three birds with one stone (they
get to feel comfortable, authors get money, I get turnover).

-- 
A clerk at a register in a computer store was questioned as to why
a 14.4 fax-modem costs over $400. The Induhvidual clerk seriously
studied the box and replied, "Well, it also has data."
    -- from the DNRC Newsletter, by Scott Adams