Usually, that's not because they don't trust the product, but because they don't trust their techs. If they use a distro which has a support contract, they have a place to go to - and a company to blaim - when the problem cannot be solved internally. Without the support contract, they think they're helpless in times of trouble.
Most public libraries in Belgium, as well as other public places, have internet connected computers to be used by anyone interested. So if you wanna get online, you can. But if they want to give away computers to anyone who can't afford a PC, why not give away free cars instead of free public transportation. Most people in Belgium who don't have a PC in their home either don't want one or are hardly intelligent enough to use a remote control. It would be a lot more interesting to use the money to teach them how to use a PC then to give them a machine they will most likely never use.
And although I'd love to see a free OS run on every PC, I think it'd be a lot more interesting to get linux on government PCs than to distribute it on a couple of thousand PCs that will hardly be used.
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Usually, that's not because they don't trust the product, but because they don't trust their techs. If they use a distro which has a support contract, they have a place to go to - and a company to blaim - when the problem cannot be solved internally. Without the support contract, they think they're helpless in times of trouble.
Most public libraries in Belgium, as well as other public places, have internet connected computers to be used by anyone interested. So if you wanna get online, you can. But if they want to give away computers to anyone who can't afford a PC, why not give away free cars instead of free public transportation. Most people in Belgium who don't have a PC in their home either don't want one or are hardly intelligent enough to use a remote control. It would be a lot more interesting to use the money to teach them how to use a PC then to give them a machine they will most likely never use.
And although I'd love to see a free OS run on every PC, I think it'd be a lot more interesting to get linux on government PCs than to distribute it on a couple of thousand PCs that will hardly be used.
Check out http://linux.aureal.com ... works for my MontegoII