[discuss] Re: Prolaw From Gil Somera @ West
Christian Einfeldt
=20
story, and several others also, are dedicated to Linux. An applications=20
maker ignores Linux at its own peril.
I am convinced a recent NY Times on line article was correct in saying th=
at=20
Linux will be as big a wave as the Internet was from 94 through 2000. Fo=
r=20
that reason, I have decided that I will not purchase any more products fo=
r=20
Windows unless 1.) I have a specific, time urgent need for that program, =
and=20
2.) there is no similar open source or Linux capable program that will co=
me=20
close. =20
There are oodles of open source time management and billing programs and =
or=20
programs that will run on Linux. For example, Time Matters runs on Linux=
, or=20
so I've heard, and so I am going to look first at Time Matters when I nee=
d a=20
new billing program. =20
I currently have Abacus Law for calendaring, but I am seriously thinking =
of=20
switching either to Kcalendar (comes free with KDE) or Evolution (comes f=
ree=20
with SuSE Linux 8.1 and higher). =20
Cost alone is not so much the issue as is control over the source code. =
I=20
want to know that if a particular provider goes out of business or drops =
the=20
product, I can simply port over to another open source alternative. I ha=
ve=20
also found open source products to be faster, more reliable, and they get=
=20
fewer viruses. Plus, as an attorney I am concerned about Microsoft's GUI=
D=20
and Palladium and .NET initiatives. Those initiatives concern me because=
=20
they compromise the attorney-client privilege by releasing information ab=
out=20
my confidential attorney-client communications to third parties not under=
my=20
control. Open source software does not have those problems.=20
And, of course, cost is a factor. I firmly believe that both operating=20
systems and office productivity suites will soon become commodities which=
are=20
either low cost or free. Currently, I gladly pay SuSE for its Linux prod=
ucts=20
because of the value that SuSE Linux delivers relative to the comparable=20
Microsoft offerings. I am not a geek, and so SuSE provides me with an=20
affordable package that I could not put together myself in a million year=
s by=20
surfing the web. The cost of the SuSE package is easier one tenth of the=
=20
cost of comparable Microsoft offerings, and Microsoft offerings come with=
the=20
baggage that I outlined above. I am not anti-Microsoft; I'm just pro-my=20
clients and pro-open source. If Microsoft starts producing its own open=20
source products, I will give MS a serious look. =20
And by the way, let me be the first to tell you that 1.) MS will eventual=
ly=20
bundle Office for "free" with Windows as it now does with IE, and 2.) by=20
2006, at the latest, MS will start writing programs to run natively on Li=
nux.=20
IBM, Motorola, Sony, Panasonic, Amazon.com, Google, HP, Sun, all of these=
big=20
names are making major advances into providing open source products. Tho=
se=20
who are still laughing at Linux will be looking at budget cuts and downsi=
zing=20
if they don't get to market in time. Don't take my word for it. Read th=
e=20
current issue of Business Week.=20
On Wednesday 26 February 2003 13:52, you wrote:
> Hi Christian-
> Unfortunately the program has to sit on a windows platform.
> Please let me know if I can answer any other questions or concerns,
> including Westlaw subscriptions.
> Regards-
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Gil Somera, J.D.
> West Publishing San Francisco
> 415-732-8523 (Office)
> 415-823-8523 (Mobile)
> 415-449-3428 (Fax)
> gil.s...@westgroup.com
>
> ASK ME ABOUT PROLAW - Calendaring, Time, Billing, Accounting (Front Off=
ice
> connected to the Back Office)
> www.ProLaw.com
>
> AUTOMATED JUDICIAL COUNCIL FORMS - Now integrated with Prolaw (enter yo=
ur
> client information ONCE)
> www.LegalSolutions.com
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Christian Einfeldt [mailto:einf...@earthlink.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 9:11 AM
> To: Somera, Gil
> Subject: Re: Prolaw From Gil Somera @ West
>
>
> I'm using Linux. Does your program run natively in Linux?
>
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Zaine Ridling
>drops the product, I can simply port over to another open source
>alternative.
You're absolutely right on this Christian. At this stage of computers,
users are no longer willing to submit to software code that does not
allow them "control" over their creations. In one instance MS tried to
say that any new database created with SQLServer is automatically
sub-licensed by MS! I have almost two decades of writings on computer,
and converting these to text files is just not realistic.
>And, of course, cost is a factor. I firmly believe that both operating
>systems and office productivity suites will soon become commodities
>which are either low cost or free. I am not anti-Microsoft; I'm just
>pro-my clients and pro-open source. If Microsoft starts producing
>its own open source products, I will give MS a serious look.
I for one want to get off the software/hardware merry-go-round that
forces me to upgrade from one to the other every other year. I just
can't afford it; also, the last three upgrades to MS Office have offered
diminished returns for its ever-increasing price.
>And by the way, let me be the first to tell you that 1.) MS will
>eventually bundle Office for "free" with Windows as it now does
>with IE, and 2.) by 2006, at the latest, MS will start writing
>programs to run natively on Linux. Don't take my word for it.
>Read the current issue of Business Week. -Christian
However, I'm not ready to predict what MS WILL do, but rather what it
should do. Yes, it should port Office to Linux asap. Every minute it
stubbornly fails to, OOo and StarOffice gain another dozen adherents.
MS's customers want a stable format that is [permanently] usable, such
as .txt, xml, html, etc. But to be giving away the cash cow that Office
has been will take a major paradigm shift inside of MS. In the past,
they've either fought everyone tooth and nail, or ravenously bought out
companies. They can't buy open-source. To me, OSS is like the Borg - it
will keep coming and it will keep getting stronger and stronger with
time. And the worst news for MS is that there's no profit motive; it
can't go bankrupt, and it can't be bought out.
Those Business Week articles are at:
http://www.businessweek.com:/print/magazine/content/03_09/b3822601_tc102
.htm?tc&sub=03linux
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/toc/03_09/B382203linux.htm
- Zaine