Creating a Paradise FOSS Development Team

[David Wolverton]

Greetings all,

In this morning's sermon, Pastor Ashley Evans (Senior Pastor, Paradise
Community Church) used Paradise's on-going IT expenses as an
illustration to the sermon point he was trying to make...  In that
illustration he stated that Paradise Community Church is currently
spending over $350k on Microsoft related licences for Servers, Desktops
and etc - which got my wife and me thinking...

After the sermon, I asked him if he'd like to save a couple of hundred k
by converting his entire network over to Linux and he replied that the
advice he'd been given was that it couldn't be done. (Obviously the
persons advising him know NOTHING about either Linux specifically and/or
FOSS in general - and were victims of both ignorance and FUD.)

To this, my wife and I agreed that a long time ago, it probably couldn't
be done without risk/major problems - but that that time had LONG since
passed...  We discussed some of the larger Corporations/Charities (etc)
that we knew about that had successfully converted and we further stated
that there were many varieties of Linux that are as easy (if not easier)
to understand as Microsoft's products; as well as being more secure (Etc
etc) Finally, I ended by stating that there was NOTHING that Microsoft
could do - that couldn't be done with Linux and asked him if a
presentation could be arranged to put together a package - including
training - if he'd be willing to SERIOUSLY look at/consider it, and he
agreed!!!

I am accordingly now putting out a formal call/request to
anyone/everyone interested/qualified in assisting to make a formal
presentation and - if accepted - providing assistance in converting the
Church's entire Microsoft Network (Internal and external Servers and
desktops, routers, switches and etc) to FOSS.

Make no mistake about it...  Regardless of what you think of Paradise
Community Church/The AOG/Christian's/Pentecostal's and/or Religion in
general - this is an ENORMOUS opportunity as Paradise Community Church
have ENORMOUS impact not only here in South Australia (with a
congregation of 5,500 people PCC are the largest Church in South
Australia with networks deep into the regular community as well as into
National Politics, and many state Community/Church Leaders) but also in
Australia (Federal Government, National Business/Church Leaders - other
Church's sown all over Australia and the world) not to mention all over
the world through their (approx) weekly 220-ish million (globally) Cable
Television broadcast called Paradise Down Under. (
http://www.paradisedownunder.com )

If anyone's interested in forming a TEAM of qualified persons with
actual experience in converting a Microsoft network of substance as well
as experience in presentations that are high impact/qualified to address
all the FUDD M$ has preached to them over the years - can you please
contact me OFF-LIST so that I can arrange a time/date to make a formal
proposal with the associate pastor in charge of this area?


Regards,

David Wolverton
// "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President,
or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not
only unpatriotic and servile,  but is morally treasonable to the
American public."  Theodore Roosevelt, US President (1901-1909)
if ( $life( $me ) == $null ) { getLife( $me ) || halt }