CompuWorld

Xandros Professional 4 lists for $99, versus anticipated Windows Vista pricing of $199. But Google Docs and OpenOffice are free, Firefox just works, and with Skype for Linux and sites like Meebo.com -- which offers free, web-based instant messaging on all the big services -- communication applications are free and completely available on Linux. (I'm sure there will be a point where I just get my daughter a Skype account instead of letting her tie up the home phone line talking to her friends after school.)

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The French government plans to install the Linux operating system on 1,154 desktop computer workstations in its Parliament. Citing "substantial savings despite the migration and training costs," and a desire to avoid too much dependence on a single vendor, the French National Assembly's decision is based largely on the results of a recent study conducted by tech consulting company Atos Origin.

Unfortunately, not every Linux migration has a happy ending. The Birmingham City Council in the UK recently terminated its own Linux migration program after deploying the operating system on only 200 of the 1,500 desktop computers initially planned. According to participants in the Birmingham project, the migration failed because the government didn't have enough expertise to establish an effective Linux deployment program. Calling the Birmingham migration "an unbelievable cock-up," NetProject consultant Eddie Bleasdale, who was involved with the project in its early stages, says that the Birmingham government "decided to do it all themselves, without expertise in the area."