[Technical] Interestingcomputers-in-education

[Con Zymaris]

On Fri, Aug 05, 2005 at 05:17:30PM +1000, Clark, Ian C wrote:
> ---
> > So this is what's being supplied under the $22 million deal?
> ---
> 
> Hi Con,
> 
> As the director of a company that sells IT products, you're aware the
> savings a very big organization can get for the products its users want
> can be phenomenal.
> 
> At the Department of Education and Training, we're talking about up to
> 200,000 computers here, especially if you include the ones not in
> schools but in Department offices.
> http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/ict/computer/inschools/pdf/ITstatsJuly2004.
> pdf
> 
> You gave the figures yourself - a $20 million agreement over three years
> means about $35 annually for each computer, for all these products:
> http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/ict/software/microsoft/agreements.htm
> 
> And on top of all of this, teachers can install back in their own homes
> the following products: upgrade version of XP, Office Pro, Front Page,
> Visual Studio .Net (pro version).
> 
> That's amazing.
> 
> A single Red Hat Workstation has an annual fee of three hundred US
> dollars. http://www.redhat.com.au/software/rhel/compare/client/
> 

Red Hat offer massive fee reductions for volume. Much better than 
Microsoft.

That doesn't get them anywhere if DE&T don't allow Red Hat (and us) to 
bid. Does it? That's anti-competitive and must stop.


-- 
___________________________________________________________________________
Con Zymaris <conz at cyber.com.au> Level 4, 10 Queen St, Melbourne, Australia 
Cybersource: Australia's Leading Linux and Open Source Solutions Company 
Web: http://www.cyber.com.au/  Phone: 03 9621 2377   Fax: 03 9621 2477