MS Access 'equiv' for Linux 3293

Juha Siltala

With the ability to get fair to middling programming from India or China (good article in the WSJ yesterday about China's search to cash in on the US outsourcing boom) for a dollar an hour, I'm surprised that some corporate enbreasty hasn't gone and hired a bunch of these folks, giving them a copy of Access and saying "Do this!" :-)

For $100,000 USD you could hire half the programmers in China and you' could have some form of an Access look-alike in 90 days! Of course, two weeks later the program would be all over the net as they have zero regard for intelligent property rights. But still, it could be done. If our company had the resources, we'd do it... because with a solid Access-like program out there we could 'sell' Linux and make a pretty good return on the service side of the equation.

Anyway, I understand how some folks feel that having a Linux 'port' of Access would be something close to 'sin' but unlike others, I'm not a zealot. I want what is best for my clients (and compay) and I don't feel the Windows OS is stable enough and secure enough for my recommendation. But on the other hand, I can't "sell" Linux unless the client can do all the stuff they want to do and do now with MS. Having an Access-clone would help... a lot! Just about everything else is out there. Most folks can get by pretty well with Open Office, Gimp, Gaim, KDE mail and other apps, FireFox, .... the whole shoebox of everyday applications we all use. But there is nothing nearly as good or featured as Access on the FOSS world, that I know of. And that's what my clients want, for better or worse. Maybe if I were a better salesman I could change their mind, but I can't lie. I like Access and feel it has a definite place in the office environment. YMMV.

Anyone got $100K and some contacts in India? :-)

Al C.