English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

Whew, this week has been busy. For the project this week I researched all sorts of information and have posted some of my findings in three different blogs. The types of research included total cost of ownership (TCO) of both open source and Microsoft software, and case studies of small schools that are using open source. The best resource I've found so far is the study that compares Microsoft products to OSS equivalents in almost every conceivable way. This is exactly the meat and potatoes of our entire white paper project, and will be used by the decision maker to choose the best option for their scenario.

I also completed my thumbnail, which I created in Microsoft Word, as a possible template for the white paper draft. I've also provided some constructive criticism of other's thumbnails. The plan of action for the design is to take one of the thumbnails, and modify it using other group member's creative ideas that they worked into their own sketches. Pending other feedback, this will probably be me or Matt's original design that we choose to modify.