____/ Mark Kent on Saturday 27 October 2007 11:27 : \____
> Doug Mentohl <doug_mentohl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> "The UK computer agency Becta is advising schools not to sign licensing
>> agreements with Microsoft because of alleged anti-competitive practices"
>>
>> "the problem was that Microsoft required schools to have licences for
>> every PC in a school that might use its software, whether they were
>> actually doing so or running something else"
>>
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7063716.stm
>
> Another example of how Microsoft are grabbing taxpayers money, in this
> case, money gathered specifically to educate our children. There is
> positively no reason whatsoever why a "licence fee" should be paid just
> to own a PC, either to Microsoft, or to anyone else. School budgets are
> tight indeed, and this abuse results, in the long run, in degrading
> buildings, larger class sizes, and so on.
According to Mark Taylor, BECTA is just playing its card in a way that enables
them to escape the EU's wrath (poker face).
Another false dawn for open source in UK schools?
,----[ Quote ]
| “Mark Taylor of the Open Source Consortium pressure group said: ‘This is a
| mini-step in the right direction but what Becta is actually doing is keeping
| Microsoft in front of the market to the exclusion of alternatives.’ He
| claimed Becta’s complaint is part of the process of negotiating a new
| contract for the use of Microsoft technology in schools and will therefore
| only add to the visibility of Microsoft in the market.”
`----
http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2007/10/22/another-false-dawn-for-open-source-in-uk-schools/
Here's the complains that has BECTA pissing in its diapers.
Becta's schools software scheme reported to EC
,----[ Quote ]
| An advisor to Becta, the education technology quango, has complained
| to the European Commission about its procurement process for firms
| to provide online learning platforms and content to British schools.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/08/becta_ec_complaint/
Here's part of the problem.
Becta has a lot to learn
,----[ Quote ]
| Rather than investing time and energy into helping to promote real
| alternatives to Redmond's hold on school IT, Becta is simply using the OFT as
| a negotiating tool. Like many organisations, Becta seems incapable of
| thinking outside a Microsoft-defined box.
`----
http://resources.zdnet.co.uk/articles/comment/0,1000002985,39290249,00.htm
The problem is broader.
Lawmaker blasts U.K. government on Microsoft policy
,----[ Quote ]
| "A member of Parliament of the United Kingdom has launched a stinging
| attack on the U.K. government's IT strategy, saying that it has given
| Microsoft too much control.
|
| John Pugh, who is a member of Parliament, or MP, for Southport and a
| member of the Public Accounts Committee, was speaking in an
| adjournment debate on Tuesday that he had called. The aim of the
| debate, he said, was to explore the alternatives to using Microsoft
| software, including open source."
|
| [...]
`----
http://www.news.com/Lawmaker-blasts-U.K.-government-on-Microsoft-policy/2100-1012_3-6212721.html
http://tinyurl.com/2ashm2
Don't forget the BBC, the NHS, and many other government departments that go by
the handshake rather than be drawn to offers that best serve the public.
> Now queue Kier to justify it.
>
> Fyi Kier, I'm also a school governor, and I know the financial position
> there first hand as well. So please, no justifying the Microsoft
> position on the basis of ignorance. If you want to know more, email me
> and I'll happily chat by email or even on the phone.
No need to go personal, IMHO. Kier advocates Linux.
--
~~ Best of wishes
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