Massachusetts: State of Open Source
,----[ Quote ]
| Massachusetts' plan for adoption of open standards has been
| in place since 2003, according to Tim Vaverchack, manager of
| shared services for Massachusetts' information technology
| division. "Our main focus is to bring in as many open source
| products as we can and also [to promote] an open source mindset."
|
| Massachusetts' embrace of open technology, open standards and
| open source Latest News about open source software was simply
| routine strategic planning, the way Tim Vaverchack tells it.
| However, the state's stance to strongly consider alternatives
| to proprietary solutions -- such as the Open Document Format
| -- has fueled one of the biggest technology firestorms in
| government IT history.
`----
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/53656.html
As proof of the resistance from Microsoft and its allies
(lobbying over ODF and beyond):
Open Source Foes In Bed With Abramoff
,----[ Quote ]
| "Citizens Against Government Waste has said some highly critical things
| about open source software in the past. They've also pounced on supporters
| of the OpenDocument Format along the way. Alas, it seems their close ties
| to Jack Abramoff have drawn the (unfavorable) attention of Senate staff."
`----
http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/12/2036223&from=rss
,----[ Quote ]
| Quinn: Almost to a person, to anybody involved or who knows about
| the ODF issue, they attributed the story to Microsoft, right, wrong
| or otherwise. Senator Pacheco may be a bully but I do not believe he
| is disingenious and would stoop to such a tactic. Senator Pacheco and
| Secretary Galvin's office remain very heavily influenced by the
| Microsoft money and its lobbyist machine, as witnessed by their
| playbook and words, in my opinion.
|
| Quinn: I believe that the ODF decision will stand. I believe MS
| will continue to do anything and everything it can to stop it. And I
| know my seat wasn't even empty and they (MS) took another shot at
| the title, to no avail. This horse is out of the barn and I see no
| way for it to go back in. Remember, all we are asking for was and is
| for Microsoft to commit to open and the standards process; so
| everyone looks really bad if the plug gets pulled at this juncture.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20060119232859729
Mass ITD Resolved Accessibility Issues, Adjusts ODF Rollout Details
,----[ Quote ]
| Now let's turn to Dana Blankenhorn's bizarre piece. First of all, Dana
| (who should know better) picks up and repeats the open source confusion,
| titling his piece Blind leading the way from open source.
|
| I'm sure this is just a hiccup, but apparently the blind have given
| Massachusetts' efforts to mandate open source the shaft. Because Open
| Document Format (ODF) software (Open Office) does not yet work with
| screen magnifiers, which make computer documents usable by those who
| are legally blind, the state of Massachusetts is
|
| This is an ancient piece of FUD (mandating open source) that has been
| perpetrated by ODF opponents, and it is discouraging to see it continue
| to appear in venues (such as ZDNet and TechWorld) that have credibility.
`----
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20060823131715736
Blind leading away from open source
,----[ Quote ]
| I'm sure this is just a hiccup, but apparently the blind have given
| Massachusetts' efforts to mandate open source the shaft.
|
| Because Open Document Format (ODF) software (Open Office) does not yet
| work with screen magnifiers, which make computer documents usable by
| those who are legally blind, the state of Massachusetts is backing-away
| from its commitment to mandate the format.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=755
Microsoft offers schools in Mass. free software
,----[ Quote ]
| Corporate donations to school systems are not unusual, as companies often
| try to gain name recognition by placing their brands with younger
| consumers. State and school officials, though cognizant of companies'
| attempts to use students for branding, said the donation is a boon
| for financially strapped schools trying to update their technology.
|
| Microsoft's software includes normal applications, such as word
| processing and spreadsheets, as well as more advanced programs.
`----
http://news.com.com/2100-7344_3-6090196.html?part=rss&tag=6090196&subj=news
Microsoft plays Massachusetts Senate card
OpenDocument not a done deal yet
,----[ Quote ]
| Accusations are rife that the software giant Microsoft has not given up
| on getting rid of the State of Massachusetts's plans to shift all its
| documents to the open source standard OpenDocument (ODF).
|
| Last week an amendment which would have would have removed the power of
| the State to set state wide IT standards and enabled the ODF project to
| be killed off was dropped. This lead many to believe that the ODF was a
| done deal.
|
| However, this week Vole gave Massachusetts high schools and universities
| more than splashed out more than $30 million worth of IT gear. This works
| out at $800 per student, and $2,400 per college kid. This is a huge amount
| of dosh, by education donation standards, in what is a very small US
| State.
|
| [...]
|
| Nothing wins votes more than being able to cut your budget thanks to a
| hefty donation from a big corporate donor, while at the same time Vole
| gets what it wants by somewhat unpublicised means.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32515
EU official joins consultancy serving Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| A European Commission official originally chosen to lead its antitrust
| case against Microsoft left on Friday last week to work for a
| consultancy that has the software firm as a client, a spokesman said.
`----
http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-10-03T134311Z_01_L03693228_RTRIDST_0_TECH-MICROSOFT-OFFICIAL.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna
http://tinyurl.com/h47g3
US ambassador to the EU was former Microsoft lobbyist
,----[ Quote ]
| Before C. Boyden Gray was named as George Bush's number one person in
| Europe, he was a lawyer lobbying on behalf of Microsoft.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34706
US politicians go to bat for Microsoft
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/26/microsoft_eu_political_lobbying/
Changing the Report, After the Vote
,----[ Quote ]
| That agreement was nearly imperiled last weekend, though. Gerri
| Elliott, corporate vice president at Microsoft's Worldwide Public
| Sector division, sent an e-mail message to fellow commissioners Friday
| evening saying that she "vigorously" objected to a paragraph in which
| the panel embraced and encouraged the development of open source software
| and open content projects in higher education. The paragraph read like
| this:
|
| "The commission encourages the creation of incentives to promote
| the development of open-source and open-content projects at universities
| and colleges across the United States, enabling the open sharing of
| educational materials from a variety of institutions, disciplines, and
| educational perspectives. Such a portal could stimulate innovation, and
| serve as the leading resource for teaching and learning. New initiatives
| such as OpenCourseWare, the Open Learning Initiative, the Sakai Project,
| and the Google Book project hold out the potential of providing universal
| access both to general knowledge and to higher education."
`----
http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/01/commission
Feds seek formal extension of Microsoft antitrust deal
,----[ Quote ]
| The U.S. Department of Justice and Microsoft on Wednesday filed a
| formal application for a two-year extension of portions of their
| landmark antitrust settlement, with the possibility of stretching it
| until 2012.
`----
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6111240.html
Noteworthy:
Microsoft Office Migration May Cost $50 bln
,----[ Quote ]
| As consumers and businesses anticipate Microsoft's next generation
| office software, one research group is contending that back-end
| infrastructure upgrades may cost organizations over $50 billion.
`----
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20061013/microsoft-office-exchange-server.htm
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