[NTLUG:Discuss] Another government agency converting to Linux

[Wayne Dahl]

During Gary Woodalls' presentation at the SkyWarn school on Saturday, I
noticed a Gnome icon in the corner of one of his slides of some software
they use for predictions.  After his presentation, I asked him if they
were running Linux over at the Fort Worth office of the National Weather
Service and he said they just converted their workstations from HPUX to
Linux and "it's a heck of a lot faster".  He was enthusiastic about the
change.  I'm glad to see they didn't go from one license problem to
another (with M$).

On a low note, TESSA (TExas Severe Storm Association) also had a
conference later in the day and the first presentation was by Martin
Lisius of TESSA on "Mobile Weather Information Technology and its Value
to Storm Spotters and Chasers".  Right off the bat, he touted Windows XP
as the premiere OS for laptops, saying it crashed less than Win98.  He
didn't even acknowledge there might be an even BETTER option than WinXP,
he just assumed everyone would be using a M$ product.

I do wish I could have come to the Linux Fair, but the school didn't end
until you were already done and then the TESSA thing lasted the rest of
the day.  It was one long day and my beehind was sore from sitting all
day on poor chairs.  If I hadn't had to go to maintain my storm spotting
certification, I probably would have gone to the Linux fair instead. 
I'd probably have had more fun.  The SkyWarn school was still fun, but
I'd really like to see what others are doing with Linux...ESPECIALLY
what M$ apps they've got working with Wine.  Maybe next time.

Wayne