The health service will evaluate Sun Microsystems' Java Desktop System package, which includes the SUSE Linux operating system, a browser, StarOffice and Ximian email.
NHS director general of IT Richard Granger, said in a statement: "Our evaluation of the Java Desktop System holds the promise of allowing a greater share of NHS funding to flow directly towards improved levels of Patient Service. If this solution were to prove effective we could save the NHS and the taxpayer many millions of pounds whilst at the same time using rich and innovative software technology."
The NHS has around one million employees and with talks with Microsoft still ongoing about a new software licence contract for the health service, Granger's words are likely to chill Microsoft executives to the bone.
Granger made no secret of his anger at the cost of software licensing when speaking at a recent event, making barbed comments about Microsoft's reluctance to offer a bigger discount on 800,000 licences.
"The cost of software is going to become several orders of magnitude lower than it is now. I don't value the IP in the same way they do," Granger said at the time.
Whether the public announcement of the open source trials is merely a ruse to improve Granger's bargaining position with Microsoft or a genuine evaluation of desktop Linux remains to be seen.
Charles Andrews, director of public sector sales at Sun, told silicon.com that the NHS could put more money into front-line patient care with the cost savings from ditching Microsoft's software, with Sun offering JDS for $50 (£29) per employee per year.
"You pay one price for one of them and a lot less for the other," he said.
Talkback
My wife works at a local hospital and has to struggle with a salary whihc equates to the basic rate of pay. If they can save a large portion of cash to pump in to health care or better pay for the staff with the same results then I am all for it.
Good move. It's not acceptable that each screen at a healthcare system would use Windows. Windows is good for home use and that's it. Who made the decision in the first place to use Windows? It wasn't a decision made on cost of deployment. Rather, a foolish one at best. So let's hope the $$$ saved will stay with the community instead of being pilfered back to Microsoft to fund their dirty deeds.
How much money they should pay to train the emplyee who isnot familiar with Linux?
Yes. Taxpayers money should not be poured into Microsoft. The alternatives are better and cheaper. Microsoft crashes too much anyway.
Ah c'mon. Bill Gates needs more money.