Savoir-Fair Linux, Inc. sues Quebec government agency over Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| [PJ: It's in French, but the general translation is that you can find at the
| link the documents regarding a lawsuit a company called Savoir-Faire Linux,
| Inc. has filed in the Superior Court of Quebec against the government's
| pension plan for choosing Microsoft software without putting the job out
| publicly for bid. It seems the law in Quebec is very strict that the
| government is supposed to publish an invitation to tender for any acquisition
| of more than $25,000, and this job was a good deal more than that.
|
| I gather Savoir-Faire Linux's position is that only open standards, formats
| and protocols are suitable to match the demands of a public market policy
| upholding four fundamental principles: act in an transparent way, favor
| strong competition, favor local economic development, get the best overall
| cost.]
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/newsitems.php
Watch out, MSBBC. :-)
Related:
BBC Director General grilled by MPs on iPlayer
,----[ Quote ]
| During the meeting there is discussion of iPlayer’s total cost to the licence
| fee-payer - the BBC representatives are unable to give a figure, but start
| the bidding at £20m, excluding staff costs. Thomson gives incorrect
| information - that Mac and Linux versions of iPlayer have the same
| functionality as Windows versions - and has to change his evidence at the
| end. Perhaps it was this confusion that prompted Dr John Pugh MP to follow up
| the encounter with a letter direct to Mark Thomson today discussing platform
| neutrality in greater detail. A copy of this letter has been passed to the
| Open Rights Group.
`----
http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2008/01/10/bbc-director-general-grilled-by-mps-on-iplayer/
BBC Corrupted
,----[ Quote ]
| Today the BBC made it official -- they have been corrupted by Microsoft. With
| today's launch of the iPlayer, the BBC Trust has failed in its most basic of
| duties and handed over to Microsoft sole control of the on-line distribution
| of BBC programming. From today, you will need to own a Microsoft operating
| system to view BBC programming on the web. This is akin to saying you must
| own a Sony TV set to watch BBC TV. And you must accept the Digital
| Restrictions Management (DRM) that the iPlayer imposes. You simply cannot be
| allowed to be in control of your computer according to the BBC.
`----
http://defectivebydesign.org/blog/BBCcorrupted
BBC iPlayer Protests
,----[ Quote ]
| Who are the people responsible for creating this mess?
|
| * Mark Thompson, BBC director general (DG)
| * Erik Huggers, group controller at BBC Future Media & Technology
| * Ashley Highfield, director of new media and technology
|
| Right now, there is very considerable concern within the BBC that the actions
| of the Director General and his team are sending the corporation in the wrong
| direction. The BBC has been embroiled in a number of recent controversies,
| all linked back to the DG's leadership.
`----
http://www.defectivebydesign.org/iPlayerProtest
Why Linux Users Should Be Furious At BBC
,----[ Quote ]
| Recently the BBC had a bit of a wake up call regarding numbers and how many
| Linux users were really out there. Why does any of this matter? It has to do
| with something the BBC provides called the iPlayer. Seriously, relying on
| ActiveX is so "1990's" that it's painful, and as luck would have it, the
| Linux users who wish to use this BBC player made sure that the BBC knew that
| they were making the sought after content inaccessible to those people using
| Linux.
|
| No iPlayer for Linux Users, But There Will Be An Alternative. Based on what I
| have been able to gather thus far, it looks like we will see an Adobe Flash
| option coming out soon. Then again, who really cares? Seriously, if the BBC
| is this foolish to ignore how much Linux growth is taking place both in the
| UK as well as the surrounding countries, then maybe people ought to be
| looking elsewhere? Is it because this is indeed, the BBC? So there is the
| belief that this is the people's media? Up until now, I enjoyed much of what
| the BBC had to offer, but this entire thing is enough to have pushed me away.
`----
http://www.osweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2731&Itemid=449
|
|
