<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> I did this with my father. He actually is still on MS Windows until I can get out there this year. The last time I had to wipe/reinstall on his box, I installed the following software: 1.) OpenOffice.org, set to save in MS Office file formats by default. 2.) Firefox Web Browser. 3.) Thunderbird email client. He was using MS Outlook Express. When he saw Thunderbird, he praised it to high Heaven, saying, and I quote, "Son, this is exactly the kind of thing I've been hoping for!" Market it not as a "replacement" to MS Windows. You'll get lots of resistance if you do that. Rather, market it as an "enhancement" or "update" to the existing system. Some people will complain a lot at first...until they get used to it. One thing I've done is say, "oh, this is just the latest update to Office." God help me, it worked, and *strictly* speaking, it's true. The big thing is to have buy-in and support from the top. If you have the top bosses backing you, then the rest will follow in order to keep their jobs. I assure you, they *will* get used to it, just like they got used to MS Windows XP and MS Office 2003...or any other new application that they are required by their bosses to use. Read this for an example of how an entire office was converted to K12LTSP. Yes, he had top-boss backing. <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://blog.lobby4linux.com/index.php?/archives/85-One-Small-Business-Gladly-Gives-Microsoft-the-Boot.html">http://blog.lobby4linux.com/index.php?/archives/85-One-Small-Business-Gladly-Gives-Microsoft-the-Boot.html</a> --TP <div class="moz-signature">_______________________________ Do you GNU!? <a href="http://www.gnu.org/">Microsoft Free since 2003</a>--the ultimate antivirus protection! </div> ahodson wrote: <blockquote cite="mid4693894A.8090406@elp.rr.com" type="cite">Hi list members Out here in West Texas (El Paso) we are trying to put in place a cohesive plan to deploy Open Source Software, starting with XP/Mac compatible applications and ending with Linux/thin client clusters down the road. See <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://tinyurl.com/3e4sh8">http://tinyurl.com/3e4sh8</a> I am wondering if those of you on the list with similar efforts or experiences might have advice or documentation to share... I never thought "free" was going to cause such panic and resistance... Cheers Alan Hodson <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://links.episd.org/">http://links.episd.org/</a> </blockquote> </body> </html>