I would like to start a new sub-project called Debian4Business or perhaps Debian-Office.I have a slight preference for the first name, but this is discussable of course.
I have a small company, that provides legal services. About 6 months ago (I use linux for more than 8 years already) all desktops are running Linux now. The people using those desktops have no prior linux experience. I have tried several distributions, but with every distribution I see problems appear with the people that use it. These problem appear because no distribution is really focused on business use within small and mid-sized companies. Of course there are some distro's with exactly this goal, however they are usually commercial products/forks. Probably all very good distro's but also awfully expensive, and that makes them not very interesting for small- and mid-sized companies. I believe there is definetely a 'market' for a business oriented linux based on open source/GPL/Debian social-contract, maintained for and by it's users instead of a commercial base. The open source/GPL/DSC concept works for individuals, so why it wouldn't/couldn't work for businesses? My goal with this project is to create a CDD that provides it's users with the tools they need to easily install and use the things a small and mid-sized business needs in their working environment. This goes for both server and desktop tasks. A small and mid-sized company often doesn't have a permanent system manager, that's exactly why things have to be simple. Of course it should also include the common office tools, like an office package (openoffice), email, groupware, etc etc. I would very much like to hear the opinions of the developer community. The first -and very important- step to be taken is to form a group of people that support this goal and are willing to work on it. If there are no major objections I will start to get things going. Regards, Arjan van Eersel ---- Dit bericht is verzonden via mijndomein.nl
