From:	 "Jesus M. "Gonzalez-Barahona <jgb@gsyc.escet.urjc.es>
To:	 freesw@conecta.it
Subject: Re: [Freesw] FW: Public Administration and Linunx - LINEX
Date:	 21 Apr 2002 23:27:15 +0200

On Fri, 2002-04-12 at 15:22, Yves.Paindaveine@cec.eu.int wrote:
> As per request of Mr. L. Casas. 
>  
> Deployment of Linux in regional public administration.

Find below a translation (not too correct, but you can get the idea)
of the official press release about LinEx. Maybe you'll find it
interesting, coming from a regional government.

More info about it in http://www.linex.org (in Spanish)

Saludos,

	Jesus.

-------------------------
Title: Extremadura Regional Government has developed LinEx distribution, 
based on Debian and Gnome 

Be legal, copy LinEx!? Using this slogan, Extremadura Regional
Government 
launches the GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian and Gnome.

LinEx forms part of a wider regional project which aims at promoting 
the Information Society in order to improve citizens' quality of life. 

LinEx is formed by applications which allow a full usage of the computer 
for a final user who does not develop a specialised work with it; LinEx 
incorporates word processors, spreadsheets, image editors, web page 
generators, programs to make presentations, programs to reproduce music 
in several formats and high quality videos, programs to create diagrams, 
a financial manager, Internet navigators, e-mail programs, calculators,
etc. 

The option for an open source software has been chosen not only for the 
solidarian value  of working with a software developed by business 
initiatives, but also for the vast number of volunteers developing open 
source applications. It has three basic pillars.

Education: the regional government has provided every school in the 
region with a bandwidth network (guaranteeing 2 Mb), and it tries to 
achieve a ratio of two students for a computer, even adapting the 
architectural structure of new schools for a better integration of  
the buildings to the computing equipment. The software to be set 
up at schools will be LinEx, since it is a reliable solution, as 
well as compatible and with clear economical advantages.

Another objective is to promote the idea, among businessmen/women 
in the region, of the fact that there are valid alternatives to 
proprietor systems (programs whose code cannot be seen or modified 
if the owner/proprietor does not permit it), in such a way that 
the saving in the payment of licences can be reinvested in 
contracting personalised services for maintenance. Besides, SME's 
from Extremadura developing software cannot be competitive when 
they work with a proprietor code (since its raw material belongs 
to big multinational companies, which  take a great part of its 
benefits, got from selling usage licences). However, they can 
be competitive when they work with open source software, since 
their business is not selling licences but giving services. In 
that way, the preparation of young computing technicians is 
backed up. 

Finally, the open source software world is lack of a boost. 
Extremadura Regional Government's main objective is to bring 
this kind of software nearer the final user, without a deep 
computing knowledge, but who has to use the computer for their 
daily tasks. That is why, the setting up of the system has 
been simplified to the maximum, and those questions about 
peripherals have been removed. Extremadura Regional Government 
hopes that LinEx  becomes a way for novel users to get nearer 
computers without fears. This characteristic is the one that 
better defines LinEx.

The portal www.linex.org has been created to back this decision 
up. From this portal citizens can update the system automatically, 
completely free of charge, and with a technical service consisting 
of an e-mail address, available 24 hours a day, from which all the 
technical problems citizens have will be answer free of charge.

Extremadura Regional Government want to take this opportunity 
to show its gratitude to the open source software community, 
specially to the creators of Debian and Gnome, as it is thanks 
to their work that  LinEx exists.

-- 
Jesus M. Gonzalez Barahona                | Grupo de Sistemas y
Comunicaciones
jgb@gsyc.escet.urjc.es / jgb@computer.org | ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan
Carlos 
tel: +34 91 664 74 67                     | c/ Tulipan s/n
fax: +34 91 664 74 90                     | 28933 Mostoles, Spain
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