[Leaplist] FAA might ditch Vista for Linux

["pberry2" at cfl.rr.com]

ray wrote:
> http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197800480
>
>
>   FAA May Ditch Microsoft's Windows Vista And Office For Google And
>   Linux Combo
>
>
>
>     FAA chief information officer David Bowen said he's taking a close
>     look at the Premier Edition of Google Apps as he mulls
>     replacements for the agency's Windows XP-based desktop computers
>     and laptops.
>
>
>
> By _Paul McDougall_ <mailto:paulmcd at cmp.com>
> InformationWeek 
> <http://www.informationweek.com/;jsessionid=FJGEKVH1YFZJYQSNDLRCKHSCJUNN2JVN>
>
> March 6, 2007 11:00 AM
>
> March is coming in like a lion for Microsoft's public sector 
> <http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=sector&x=&y=> 
> business. Days after /InformationWeek/ reported that the Department of 
> Transportation has placed a moratorium on upgrades to Windows 
> <http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=Windows&x=&y=> 
> Vista, Office 2007, and Internet Explorer 7, the top technology 
> official at the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that he is 
> considering a permanent ban on the Microsoft software 
> <http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=software&x=&y=> 
> in favor of a combination of Google's new online business applications 
> running on Linux-based hardware.
>
> In an interview, FAA chief information officer David Bowen said he's 
> taking a close look at the Premier Edition of Google Apps as he mulls 
> replacements for the agency's Windows XP-based desktop computers and 
> laptops. Bowen cited several reasons why he finds Google 
> <http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=Google&x=&y=> 
> Apps attractive. "It's a different sort of computing strategy," he 
> said. "It takes the desktop out of the way so you're running a very 
> thin client. From a security and management standpoint that would have 
> some advantages."
>
> Google launched 
> <http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197007903> 
> Google Apps Premier Edition last month at a price of $50 per user, per 
> year. It features online e-mail, calendaring, messaging, and talk 
> applications, as well as a word processor 
> <http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=processor&x=&y=> 
> and a spreadsheet. The launch followed Google's introduction of a 
> similar suite aimed at consumers in August. The new Premier Edition, 
> however, offers enhancements, including 24x7 support, aimed squarely 
> at corporate and government environments.
>
> Bowen said he's in talks with the aviation safety agency's main 
> hardware supplier, Dell Computer, to determine if it could deliver 
> Linux-based computers capable of accessing Google Apps through a 
> non-Microsoft browser once the FAA's XP-based computers pass their 
> shelf life. "We have discussions going on with Dell," Bowen said. 
> "We're trying to figure out what our roadmap will be after we're no 
> longer able to acquire Windows XP."
>
>
It gets worse, with Intel stating that the Intel corporation will NOT be 
upgrading to Vista, until at least SP1, and THEN, only if they can 
actually show a justification in all of their applications speeding up.  
PLUS,  "I know  of no organization doing an upgrade before SP1," said 
Otellini

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=4597


PLUS:

The WOW Starts Now. Just not on your iBook
,----[ Quote ]
 The funny thing about marketing Vista with a stock photo of a MacBook
 is that these days the Mac could actually be running Vista. Too bad
 that's an iBook.
`----
http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/05/the-wow-starts-now-just-not-on-your-ibook/