A Linux Users Group for Professionals?

ir0b0t asks: "I'm a lawyer in a solo divorce practice in Missoula, Montana. I have migrated my office to OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird and Sunbird but want to do more Open Source, yet I have issues that come up nearly every day. The problems I encounter are often unique to running a small law practice. Coders sometimes give me blank looks when I describe what I need. Other lawyers tend to automatically use proprietary solutions and show little interest in Open Source alternatives. I want to eventually use only Open Source code in my office. I am willing to do my homework. Are there others like me out there? Is there a Linux Users Group or other online forum for professionals like me who want more Open Source solutions for our work? Thanks."

Comments

Nothing?

[daviq]

Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

Hmmm...

[dariuscardren]

I knwo Wplug in western PA seems to have a lot of professional type members, and seems to answer questions quickly on IRC or their mailing lists, but as a purely professional list I'm not sure if one exists.

Look here, idiot...

[Anonymous Coward]

This is so much a dupe, it's just staggering.

Eh

[Daxster]

Wouldn't all LUGs apply to that category? They would consist of people looking for open-source solutions, and *should* contain professionals of some sort..
Same with linux forums.

Re:Eh

[OSXCPA]

LUGs are great, but speaking from experience in my hometown (Chicago, IL) it is very hard to find ACTIVE LUGs, and the active ones out there are generally not focused on end-user or business-specific issues. I've met some great people and learned a lot from them, but I fear that the learning went one way - I picked up a lot of LINUX info, just listening to these people, but when the conversation went to areas I actually knew something about (small business budgeting, end-user training / interface) the interest level dropped. No surprise there - why would a computer scientist want to talk about the technology equivalent of cleaning the toilet and walking the dog? I think the problem is that there just aren't that many people 'in business' who particularly care about OSS or using 'custom' development to improve our business process. I know my current and previous employers don't. That, and let's face it - the key thing that the community offers business is the ability to solve your own problems, but those problems (facing companies) may be tricky, but they are not terribly interesting. If you doubt this, how many jokes about "writing accounting applications in COBOL" have you heard, when describing dead-end software work?

PJ at groklaw might be able to help

[grattwood]

PJ over at http://groklaw.net/ might be able to help, or point you to peolple who are doing this. I think she is planning a Linux LiveCD for lawyers.

Re:PJ at groklaw might be able to help

[Anonymous Coward]

Whoops, I forgot to mention, PJ is a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot crazy; she is a Jehovas Witness) but she doesn't act too weird as long as you don't mention her "missionary work"

~grattwood

Re:PJ at groklaw might be able to help

[trick-knee]

> Whoops, I forgot to mention, PJ is a little crazy

I don't think there's any need to say this. I've read groklaw for a long time, and I don't see any evidence to support that. I mean, she's no more crazy than any of us who are working for open source causes in a closed source world.

the Jehovah's Witness thing may or may not be true; I haven't tried to seriously research it. but it's irrelevant because PJ has the ability (desire? need?) to separate her personal and professional lives.

the bottom line is that groklaw gives well-researched information. her integrity has fostered a lot of support and assistance from her readers. you mentioned her desire to see a knoppix-like linux distro with tools that those in the legal profession need and want, and I think it will eventually come to pass in some form in no small part due to that integrity she has.

the grandparent post (presumably from the AC I'm replying to) gave good advice: try to contact PJ and see what info she might have. it should have been left at that.

Re:PJ at groklaw might be able to help

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd have to be in agreement with your parent. Many people consider multiple factors in determining whether or not someone is to be trusted. Some religious persons won't trust agnostics or atheists; sometimes they won't even trust other people of faith simply because it's the wrong one. Likewise, many agnostic or atheist people will refuse to trust people of faith.

For me it's simple: if you're willing to believe the stories of Jehovah's Witnesses, then your mind is too easily susceptible to fiction and suggestion. How can I trust you? Everything becomes suspect, and even if someone says that they're able to separate the the rest of their life from their faith, the fact is that line has already been blurred too far for me. Personal preference.

Point is, if I'm going to ask a non-secular question regarding my business, I would want to know if the person to whom I'm being referred thinks Santa Claus is real, the sky is brown and dogs talk. I would hope to have someone point it out to me, but again that's a personal preference.

Re:PJ at groklaw might be able to help

[Rude Turnip]

"the Jehovah's Witness thing may or may not be true; I haven't tried to seriously research it. but it's irrelevant because PJ has the ability (desire? need?) to separate her personal and professional lives."

I think a JW (based upon the ones I know personally) would have trouble with the following words being uttered in a courtroom: "All rise for the Honorable Judge Smith."

One right here.

[wot.narg]

There is a help forum for lawyers at http://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/lawyers.html

*nods at himself confidently*

Groklaw

[neillewis]

http://groklaw.net/ has had some discussion about OSS for lawyers in the past, particularly around WordPerfect import/export issues (WP still having something of a stronghold in legal circles) ... there must be some lawyers out there with the same issues as you, and if there isn't a LawLUG why not start one?

Good luck.

Re:Groklaw

[ir0b0t]

The issues that arise with WordPerfect are a good example of the sort of problem that faces lawyers who need to work in heavily formatted documents.

As soon as you switch to Open Office, you need to start dealing with all of the WordPerfect attachments other lawyers send you. If its a document you need to edit and return the same day, using Open Office becomes questionable very fast.

Ditto when you go to print a label for an envelope on Open Office, and it won't line up correctly. At that point, you don't care whether the problem is caused by proprietary vendors that don't play well with others. You just need the problem fixed.

Start Your Own?

[CarlinWithers]

This sounds to me like a great idea, I know I'd join such a group. Unfortunately I have no idea if such things exist. If they do, likely they can be found out about at a local post-secondary institution or computer service shop.

Why not start you own? If you happen to live in Calgary, I'd gladly help you do it.

Re:Start Your Own?

[hatrisc]

Do people not read the actual post anymore? He blatantly states that he lives in Missoula Montana. According to Mapquest, that's nearly 8 hours away.

Not everything can be solved by open source

[Alpha27]

Depending on what you do, and what software you need, you can't migrate everything to open source, and that's a fact you have to accept, only if you haven't accepted it yet. I only mention it that way, because you did not.

The main issues include:

- a standard application that "everyone" uses, in the industry you are in, is not supported on Linux. ie: mortgage brokers who use a particular set of programs to create and process applications.

- some industry applications require proprietary software to run. ie: Realtors who use the online MLS listing who need IE to access the website.

- a bigger issue is learning curve. If I know an application really well, and I'm effective in what I do with it, why should I have to learn a new application?

- some open source applications can't do all the features as the proprietary application I use. this is a fact in a number of cases. What are you going to do, add the features to the open source version until they are all in there? Unfortunately, that's not always a feasible approach.

The good news is, there are open source solution for common things, like web browsing, email, group tasks, filesharing and printing, many of the common tasks you can do in an office.

The easiest transitions you can make is usually on the server side (web server, email, filesharing), the stuff that's pretty transparent to users. Then you can migrate users on the client side, slowly, and with applications where they can gain an advantage on. Transitioning to open source, for the sake of open source is not a reason to do it. As long as you provide enough reason, and suitable solutions, you will have a good chance with users switching.

Re:Not everything can be solved by open source

[t482]

I would disagree to the extent that

1) There are ASP solutions fill your needs (a la Salesforce.com)
2) Wine can solve some problems
3) Terminal Server can solve other problems

If all else fails post a project on rentacoder. Its amazing how much php $500 can buy you.

Re:Not everything can be solved by open source

[Alpha27]

Actually you're not disagreeing with me, since my argument was more about issues to think about, and how it applies to some cases, not all.

- Wine can't solve some dependencies like DirectX 9.

- Terminal Server is not really a solution if your goal is to go to an open source solution, it's just another layer. If you have to use a Terminal Server for a single application, maybe they should just stay on the Windows platform (or Mac for those where Mac applies), depending on the amount of time they spend it, though if they spend any, why support two machines for a user when you can support one, unless you can share that machine with others.

- I'm all for ASP solutions, when applicable, and you touched on a more "specific" application that happens to work across many industries, regardless of the platform. Another good example is web-based apps like email, calendaring, groupware, etc.

As for the original poster, a good search in Google will lead you to articles on Linux Journal talking of companies who have made the switch, and examples of LTSP where the thin-client and heavy server is a viable option for many companies. I wish you luck in your search, I'm sure there are many on slashdot who can contribute their experience to what they have found, and done.

Re:Not everything can be solved by open source

[Master of Transhuman]

"you can't migrate everything to open source"

Well, yes, you can.

The issue is whether a given operation can AFFORD to do so on their own.

The answer is to get together with others, form an industry OSS group, then get some developers who work in that industry interested in doing the work.

By the way, let's be clear:

"Realtors who use the online MLS listing who need IE to access the website."

No, they DON'T need IE - they need a browser that does EXACTLY the same thing as IE vis-a-vis that site. Not the same thing at all.

And in that particular case, it probably wouldn't be hard to get the folks at Mozilla to find out exactly what that thing is and provide it - unless of course it's ActiveX - then you need some utility that allows ActiveX to run elsewhere than on IE. The ActiveX plugin available for Firefox is supposedly buggy - well, somebody at Mozilla needs to make it UN-buggy!

Another option is to use IE either on WINE or a VM to access that site - then use OSS to process the data in every other respect.

As Charles Bronson said in "The Mechanic": "There are alternatives to everything..."

Any "standard application" can be reverse- or re-engineered in OSS form, or surrounded by and run in an OSS environment, or otherwise taken out of the picture. You just have to have some imagination and the willingness to invest the effort.

It's not easy - I'm looking at some crappy Oracle Forms these days I wish could be made to go away - they're insanely complicated and undocumentable. It would be quicker to re-engineer them - IF I had some clear documentation as to how they work in the first place.

It's crappy design, not proprietary or OSS software, that causes all the problems in IT.

Re:Not everything can be solved by open source

[uohcicds]

Well, no you can't migrate everything to Open Source. Yes, you could write the code, for sure, but nothing is in isolation; if you have an industry that's not interested in having its tools play nicely with others then interoperability is just not going to happen.

The thing to keep sight of here is that you are doing this for a reason. The reason, if you are running a business, is that there is some cost or benefit advantage to your doing it. If you stand to gain some advantage from it then you should do it, within ethical bounds of course.

I'm an open source enthusiast, and have spent a great deal of time evanglising it to others, but I'm also an IT professional and if I were acting as a consultant for you I'd advise you to be pragmatic.

The parent for my post is right in many ways, many problems are caused by bad design. But to that you have to add something else; bad requirements. If you don't know what you really want before you start out, any 'solution' you arrive at is likely to be fatally flawed.

First, ask yourself why you are doing this, then also ask if others share your needs: there maybe something to be gained by seeing if others do. Then think about what you need your systems to do. Look at functionality. If those functions can be perfomed by OSS, then consider them. If cost is a driver, factor that too. If you need to maintain file compatibility think about those costs. If you have staff with skills with particular packages, think about them and the cost of training them to use other systems (if indeed you can). Do you keep some efficiencies by keeping some of your existing infrastructure?

You may also need to consider that if others in the legal profession are thinking along similar lines, then strategy, rather than tactics are called for. Play the long game and try to drive what vendors will provide by asking for it. If you need file format compatibility, then bug the vendors. If they're not willing to consider it, think about how you may share inofrmati nin an open way with others and try to form a critical mass that way. Remember how dominant WordPerfect used to be for legal work (it was v. common in the UK at least). Think why it faded, part of it was because MS provided tools for bringing in WP data into Word and the rest fell into place. Tools rise and fall, data formats are the thing to focus on. As long as you can share and preserve data, the tool is less imprtant. Let vendors know that.

To mangle a well-worn phrase: have the courrage to change what you can, the patience to accept the things you can't and the wisdom to know the difference.

Finally, it sounds as if you are really thinking about this so find a good consultant, sit down with him and work out what you really want, not just what you thinkyou want. Then see what you can gain by using OSS. Don't just do it because you think you can.

Re:Not everything can be solved by open source

[Master of Transhuman]

"if you have an industry that's not interested in having its tools play nicely with others then interoperability is just not going to happen."

Well, the whole point of the current SOA push in IT is to change that. Yes, they accept that the back-end stuff isn't going to be changed - but they put in front-end stuff so it doesn't matter until they can afford to migrate the back-end stuff.

I know there are companies sitting on thirty-year-old COBOL code who will undoubtedly go out of business before they try to convert it. But one of those things - conversion or going out of business - WILL happen eventually. THAT's inevitable.

Like I said, there are a variety of ways to deal with the issue. All it takes is some imagination and willingness to invest some short-term effort and expense for long-term gain.

"have the courrage to change what you can, the patience to accept the things you can't and the wisdom to know the difference."

We Transhumans don't accept death OR taxes, let alone an inability to switch software! Anybody who thinks they're stuck handling their IT needs isn't long for being in business if that's the only way they handle problems in general.

In general, your advice to the OP is correct - I would prefer not to let it be an excuse for not making the effort, however, or saying that it can't be done, as you did in your opening sentence.

Nobody said the guy has to do this on his own, either - he doesn't have the skills. There are plenty of bright people who can solve a lot of his problems for him if he's willing.

Re:Not everything can be solved by open source

[ir0b0t]

I do believe that these interoperability problems can and will be solved. Five years ago, I couldn't tell a cpu from a computer case. I know a lot more now thanks to helpful hackers. It may take time, but it will be done.

Re:Not everything can be solved by open source

[uohcicds]

"Like I said, there are a variety of ways to deal with the issue. All it takes is some imagination and willingness to invest some short-term effort and expense for long-term gain."

Absolutely, with you 100% on that one. Unfortunately, some of the sectors in question just have way too much entrenched interest and inertia. Even if you are forming alliances and collaborating with others, sometimes it could be that the cost-benefit payoff just doesn't justify the effort. But believe me, there's nothing I'd like more than to see this guy's office moved fully to open source to do all the things he wants. If he's willing to pay to do it (and work with others), so much the better.

I hope he lets us know how he gets on. I for one am really interested.

Re:Not everything can be solved by open source

[Anonymous Coward]

"a bigger issue is learning curve. If I know an application really well, and I'm effective in what I do with it, why should I have to learn a new application?"

That's got to be the worst thing I've ever seen on /.

I won't disagree with it, not for one second. I'm just sick of it. Then again, that sentiment is what really puts the $ in M$.

Look! Look! A Lawyer!

[bill_mcgonigle]

I've been advocating for a little shark icon to go next to the Friend/Foe/Subscriber icons so everybody can stop writing 'IANAL, but...' but everytime I bring it up, somebody has to post, "but there aren't any lawyers on Slashdot".

So, may ir0b0t be the proud first bearer of 'The Shark'.

Re:Look! Look! A Lawyer!

[ir0b0t]

I like the idea of lawyers getting a special icon but couldn't it be a fountain pen or a scale instead of a shark?

The lawyers that practice that way are far fewer and further in between than people think. I also believe that shark behavior does not make particularly effective lawyer behavior.

But if it was the shark or nothing I might have to reconsider since it would be really cool to get a special lawyer icon on slashdot.

Re:Look! Look! A Lawyer!

[Anonymous Coward]

According to my girlfriend who worked in law offices for 15 years as a legal secretary, almost every lawyer she met was a backstabbing bastard. The female ones were even worse than the male ones. She finally quit the practice altogether and moved to a totally different career because the poisonous work environments in law offices were causing her so many health problems.

Interestingly, she was a great secretary, never made docketing or calendar mistakes, and had good references. But she went through many jobs because as soon as some female attorney decided she didn't like her because she didn't act like a cowering little peon, she was summarily fired by HR on their say-so.

Also interesting was how law offices are constantly complaining that they can't get enough legal staff (secretaries, paralegals, etc.), and that their turnover is too high. But when they find someone they like, they absolutely refuse to pay a decent salary because they just can't imagine that a legal secretary is worth more than $40k (even though they've been looking for one for months). Yet they have no trouble paying attorneys huge 6-figure salaries.

From this, I've learned that most attorneys are egotistical bastards who are a drain on society. There are a few who are good people, but the majority are not. They are scum. This is reinforced by the obvious damage lawyers have caused, and are still causing, to society through the excessive litigation that is occurring in this country. If it gets cold and ice forms, and you stupidly slip and fall on it, you'll have no trouble finding a lawyer to help you sue the property owner for failing to keep the temperature outside from freezing.

Lawyers shouldn't get a shark icon. They should get an icon that looks like Satan, because on the average, they are genuinely evil people.

Spend money and complain

[t482]

Honestly one of the best ways to change the situation is to spend money and complain to the developers - open source or not.

A friend of mine has a company that supports about 8 or 10 law firms. All use more or less amounts of linux (mostly on the backend).

For example many lawyers use time tracking software such as time matters a time tracking and billing package that is windows based.

Postgresql is the database in the back end that Time matters supports. The performance is poor compared with MS SQL Server - mostly due to poor coding. What do you do? Call them up and complain.
It runs mostly under wine on the desktop, or typically we have it run under terminal server.

I would also have a look at www.osafoundation.org/ which will eventually produce a platform to do something like which you probably want to do. That is, easily customize your contact, scheduler and email system.

Another solution I've seen firms use in linux is based on Lotus Domino/Notes. Proprietary but runs in Linux. Often you can get 10 licenses bundled if you buy a new or used IBM server.

Haven't you heard?

[Fr05t]

MS, SCO, and a whole lot of very credible journalists have clearly stated there is so such thing as professional Linux. It's all just a bunch of long haired, teen age hax0rs living in their parents basement writing viruses to take down capitalism! Oh yeah don't forget commies and pirates!

**Disclaimer** This post was a joke, please mod accordingly.

Debian-lex

[philipsblows]

Debian-Lex is an internal project to develop Debian into an operating system that is particularly well fit for the requirements for legal offices. The goal of Debian-Lex is a complete system for all tasks in legal practice which is built completely on free software.

I subscribed to the debian lex mailing list a while ago out of curiosity. I can't say I know much more having subscribed, but perhaps there are some subscribers there with other specific ideas or answers to your question. No guarantees. Oh, IANAL.

Debian-lex Project Page

A link to the mailing list archive-- with a couple of messages from this month!-- can be found among other bits of info there.

According to a lot of Linux Zealots

[Seumas]

You should write your own software if your law-firm-specific needs aren't already addressed by OSS. If you can't do that, you should pay someone to develop it for you. Otherwise, you should shut the fuck up and go back to windows you parasitic n00b!

I don't agree with those comments, but that tends to be a common reaction. Nobody ever stops to think that the needs of one person might actually be the needs of many other people, too and that by addressing the needs of that one person they could be addressing the needs of hundreds or thousands or more; expanding the reach of OSS and Linux.

Of course, I don't see how there could still remain any such unfulfilled needs. After all, Linux has been "ready for the desktop" since like 1998 and 2005 is "the year of linux"... Kind of like 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 and 1998.

Re:According to a lot of Linux Zealots

[mindaktiviti]

I know the parent poster was a troll, but why are you harassing a lawyer who's actually FOR open source? We have enough of them attacking OSS and patents and all that other crap, so what this one is "giving back" to the community is being a consumer who likes Linux, as opposed to Windows. Maybe he should go back on Windows, and because of bitter guys like you ruining his day, he can help the fight against linux.

Re:According to a lot of Linux Zealots

[ir0b0t]

Thanks for this comment. There is growing interest in the open source movement among lawyers. I attended the ABA Equal Justice Conference this year, and there was one session devoted to "saving money" with software options that included a discussion of open source code. Its a start.

The Legal Services Corporation spends thousands each year on proprietary code but is actively exploring open source alternative. I would much rather that grant money went to open source coders than proprietary licenses.

Prof. Lessig has also done a lot to open eyes to the important cultural resonance of the open source movement.

I could give you advice...

[Yonder Way]

...but you will get a bill for $300 per hour for it.

Money talks...

[oliverthered]

There are are a lot of OSS apps out there that may be usefull to your business but be missing a key feature. Why not offer up bounty to get the features that you would like to see implemented, you could even get together with some other law firms and be able to offer a reasonable bounty to get the software you would like (I'm sure a few K won't hurt a law firms wallets too much (-:)

Are you a Microsoft evangelist or just a Troll?

[t482]

I think the original poster of the article is looking for solutions. Not additional problems.

From your earlier post - you obviously think that windows is the only solution.

"You'd be surprised how many people just do not consider Macs an option. You need a computer, it's strictly PC and Windows, nothing else. So with the masses, I would say Mac is not an option, unless they are a little more savvy."

Terminal Server is a great solution for apps like accounting software as is vmware with an old win95 license. Cuts down on licensing costs. And by the way most office software use the standardard api - DirectX isn't part of it.

Re:Are you a Microsoft evangelist or just a Troll?

[keltor]

I don't think this guy is either ... Just a realist about how you have to do things with clients when you are consulting. I'd love all my clients to at least use FireFox and some open source mail or webmail, but some of my clients think outlook+exchange is god.

Re:Are you a Microsoft evangelist or just a Troll?

[t482]

We've setup 8 law firms on varying amounts of linux and open source tools.

Outlook + Exchange is poor at tracking time for lawyers although many of them use it (along with their crackberries).

Sincere apologies

[jawahar]

"Coders sometimes give me blank looks when I describe what I need."

I'm a programmer by profession. My sincere apologies on behalf of the coders and thank you for using open source software.

Please contact a near by Linux consultant
http://www.thelinuxreview.com/ldp/consultants.lxp

As a fellow Montanan...

[USSJoin]

I understand the problem you're going through; let's face it, most people look at you with a blank stare anytime you say *anything* related to computers.

That said, I worked on the migration of a firm in Billings, MT to OSS. What we found was that there really *is* no replacement for the capstone software, Amicus Attorney, and I couldn't even make it run on Crossover. So we use OpenOffice instead of MS, and Firefox/Thunderbird, but are forced into Windows for one app (usual story). Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the legal field just isn't interested in Linux, *because* the big firms (like the Washington Big 10, for instance) are IP lawyers, so they're *defending* Microsoft etc. Tacky to use the competition, it seems.

If you have no need for Amicus, then what software, really, do you need? PM me, we can discuss the issue.

Re:As a fellow Montanan...

[Pandora's Vox]

I'd be interested in that discussion as well, as per my own ask slashdot article on this very topic about a year ago ( http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/07/22 7252 ).

I think that maybe what needs to happen here is for someone to start a project for an OSS legal time billing app, possibly building on something like sql-ledger

Because I'm still having to troubleshoot PCLaw for my dad and it grows tiresome :-)

-Leigh

ps. feel free to email leigh [at] hypatia.ca rather than PMing

Re:As a fellow Montanan...

[ir0b0t]

I've talked with friends and my brother about this very project. I became used to using Amicus Attorney (similar to PC Law) but have now gone cold turkey off of all proprietary code except XP. I've vowed to use pen and legal pad until I can find open source code that works better.

I can't tell you how badly I miss being able to select my time, client info and activity code *one* time from pull-down menus instead of entering it all twice manually. I would happily settle for now for a format that would import easily into Quickbooks.

Focus

[Johnny Mnemonic]

I think your focus is wrong. Instead of thinking "OSS for Pros", you should be thinking "Lawyers who love Linux". As you said, the legal practice has particular issues that you've had difficulty solving. I don't imagine that an association that included investment bankers, restauranters, and vehicle mechanics would do you much good, even though they all used linux in the course of their business.

Instead, you need something specific to the legal industry, even specific vertical applications. For that I think you'd be better forming an organization specific to that need.

Microsoft Astroturfing?

[thecampbeln]

Over the last few months, there seems to be a *MASSIVE* up-tick in either the general /. opinion of Microsoft and it's products, or someone at Microsoft has decided on targeting /. for a bit of good ole fashion astroturfing. Funny, as I was recently forced from Win2k up to WinXP and work, and I've had nothing but problems since (so, at least for me, that makes me believe that their products aren't getting any better, so maybe it's that green stuff after all!?) Can I just make these guys "-1 Astroturfer" instead of Foe-ing them up?

Re:Microsoft Astroturfing?

[gnarlin]

We, the employees at Microsoft's astroturfing department, absolutely protest this!
Our jobs require us to only *guide* the misdirected unto a path that leads to Microsoft
solutions, that's all.

Re:Microsoft Astroturfing?

[Anonymous Coward]

The astroturfers and apologists were quite quiet for a few weeks earlier this year. During that time, pretty much no one spoke up for the overcharging, predatory maker of defective software. They didn't start up again until shortly after the new marketing offensive was announced.

Don't think of it as a software company, MS hasn't been than since before the deal with IBM. It's not a marketing company either, that went out at the end of the DOJ vs MS. Think of it as a political or ideological movement and it makes more sense. (That would also explain the MS ambassador to the EU that MS appointed via Bush. It also explains the functional equivalent of ambassadors that MS is appointing directly to individual countries.) Many in the EU want to be M$' bitch and so will do everything possible to mess with EU policy (like the current ant-trust case) and with individual member state's policy.

I'd be as worried about the MS marketeers that lay pressure on editors to mess with the titles or spin content. When MS killed off the little companies, the magazines lost the advertising from them and are now almost wholly dependent on marketing revenue from M$. You already see article titles proclaiming security problems with Win2000, but read a little into the article and you see that the problem affects also WinXP and Win2003, this at a time when MS is trying to force old customers into new purchases.

As a fellow Blamer.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the legal field just isn't interested in Linux, *because* the big firms (like the Washington Big 10, for instance) are IP lawyers, so they're *defending* Microsoft etc. "

Guess we just had to get in the obligatory "It's all Microsoft's fault", to explain why OSS couldn't solve this guy's problems.*

*Why do people even bother trying to get useful advice from this forum?

--
The "are you a script" word for today is reactive.

I am a LAMP developer.

[Alpha27]

Microsoft evangelist? Wow, I haven't been so insulted in quite some time. =)

I'm actually a Linux loving, LAMP Web Developer who runs Linux at home, the office, and on my web sites. My postings have been from my linux machine. Would be nice if slashdot had a feature to record that, so that comments like yours would appear funnier to all, than to just the individual you are refering to. =)

But I also know when to hold them, and know when the fold them.

Yes, as others have pointed out, you *can* solve everything with open source. You really could.... if you're willing to solve it yourself in some way. But the reality is this, I have a money and time constraints. If I need an identical (or very close to it) program to something that isn't on my platform, how much is it going to cost me, and how much time will it take? Is it feasible for me to even go down this path? Developing new software, in itself, is a time consuming process. You have to deal with all the bugs, and feature changes you might impose on it, since you have the control. But then what do you use in the interim? The same thing you're trying to replicate.

Overall for many companies, going purely open source is not an option, because they don't have all the resources to do so. There are stories out there of companies who transitioned to a purely Linux environment, because they wrote the code themselves. These companies include Disney and Ford. They have the money, they made the time, and had the resources. Unfortunately this won't always be the case.

The original poster needs to consider what other problems they will encounter in order to get at solutions. If you're not aware of other possible problems you may encounter when transitioning to open source, you might go down a path that you may have to back step out of later on. It's important to see as many sides as possible.

And like I said before, I wish the guy the best in his search. He might be able to pull it off.

Business Forum

[OSXCPA]

Try this - http://www.smallbizgeeks.com/phpBB2/ They are pretty active and there are good forums, some of which may interest you.

Lamlaw

[EzInKy]

This lawyer is a strong open source advocate who posts regular updates on SCO and other issues. He might be someone you would be interested in contacting.

According to a lot of Linux Zealots---

[Anonymous Coward]

Well judging by the low UID and the title of his post. I'd say the one under attack are Linux Zealots. And yes they are predominate here as well as elsewere. There's even a couple posts further up questioning weither it's "microsoft astroturfing" if you question weither OSS can solve this guy's problems. When the community is willing to shed all of it's zealots then it will have grown up. In the mean time they hurt more than they help.

Use Linux Newsgroups

[Anonymous Coward]

IANAL, but the lawyering I've seen uses word processing extensively. You are using the Open Office suite which has worked for me as a general word processing tool.

If you have special needs or are looking for advice, then post a question to the linux newsgroups (comp.os.linux.misc, etc.)

Just some words of caution beforehand:

1. Do some research before asking for help. This will help you to formulate a good question which is likely to bear fruit. Google is a tremendous research tool in this regard.

2. Be prepared to ignore the inherent noise level in the open forum.

Newsgroups are a world wide forum where help is available, and someone's experience may mirror your own.

As far as user groups, check at the University of Montanta in your town. I see they have a CS department, and Linux is bound to be part of the (un)official curriculeum there.

Same problem

[stuffduff]

Trouble is that your 'professionals' will most likely be as clueless as you are. You'll probably find a stinky kid there who never sees the light of day who will fix you up for pizza (and beer if he's old enough). Take one on as an 'intern' of sorts and you'll learn what you need to know.

small offices are more flexible

[ir0b0t]

Smaller offices are good places to model solutions and work out bugs. The fixes that work can then be scaled for the larger offices that are more restricted by the problems you mention.

F/OSS in a Law Firm

[mwaggs_jd]

I work in a small law firm, two attorneys, three when I take the bar. We have done the same thing as you, I have switched our office to Firefox, Thunderbird, and we are migrating to Sun Star Office (old Wordperfect files make OpenOffice impracticle). We practice mainly bankruptcy so we have a proprietary software package for putting together the federal forms(it does run in Wine, though the programers didn't believe me). The only thing I can see that we are missing is case management software, that is basically just a database with a nice front end. What are you looking to do?

Re:F/OSS in a Law Firm

[Pandora's Vox]

working on starting a case management software project. email me at leigh [at] hypatia.ca for more info... we need people in the states to be involved as I'm only familiar with the canadian legal system.