-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
U.K. tech agency: Microsoft's no friend to schools
,----[ Quote ]
| The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) said
| Monday that it has filed a complaint with the European Commission against
| Microsoft, alleging that its new Office 2007 file format will impede
| educational initiatives because it does not natively support open standards.
`----
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9947891-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
OOXML is still very broken:
YEARFRAC Incompatibilities between Excel 2007 and OOXML (OXML)
,----[ Quote ]
| In theory, the OOXML (OXML) specification is supposed to define what Excel
| 2007 reads and writes. In practice, it's not true at all; the latest public
| drafts of OOXML are unable to represent many actual Excel 2007 files.
`----
http://www.dwheeler.com/blog/2008/05/19/#excel-oxml-yearfrac
Earlier:
Fractured YEARFRAC and Discounted DISC
,----[ Quote ]
| So Excel is off by 2% or so. Do we really care. It's just money, right?
|
| The problem is that the function in OOXML is defined incorrectly, from the
| financial perspective. The discount rate is the discount from the redemption
| value, not the discount from the purchase price. So the first term in the
| formula should be (redemption-par)/redemption, not (redemption-par)/par. If
| you make this change, then the calculated value matches the value Excel
| gives.
|
| [...]
|
| What would be normal practice would be to take the definitions, as given in
| the OOXML text, and to calculate the values according to the definition
| provided in the text, and then to compare the resulting values with what
| Excel returns. That would provide a useful double-check of the definitions in
| the text. But OOXML doesn't do that. The example here are mere fluff and
| provide no additional assurance to the implementor.
|
| The discrepancy here also indicates that no one has actually reviewed these
| formulas for accuracy. Errors like this are immediately evident, but only if
| you look. The fact that things like this have escaped the notice of
| Microsoft, Ecma TC45, their Project Editors, 80 NB reviews, the BRM experts,
| and the eagle eyes of ITTF, should make one have considerable concerns over
| the the sufficiency of the Fast Track review and approval process.
`----
http://www.robweir.com/blog/2008/05/fractured-yearfrac-and-discounted-disc.html
Recent:
Microsoft clings on to schools deal
,----[ Quote ]
| Becta, the UK quango governing technology spending in education, swept the
| licensing issue under the carpet in order to sign a new three-year deal with
| Microsoft, the convicted software monopolist, last month.
|
| [...]
|
| During 2007, when the 2004 MOU extension was operating, Becta complained
| about Microsoft's licensing practices and technology to the UK's Office of
| Fair Trading, and advised schools not to upgrade to Vista and Office 2007,
| Microsoft's latest software.
|
| Yet Becta had no choice but to sign a new agreement with Microsoft, said Ian
| Lynch, who campaigns for open source software in schools with the Open
| Schools Alliance.
|
| "In the sense that Microsoft has a monopolistic presence, Becta [still] has a
| remit to get the best discount it can," he said.
|
| "In the short term they might get the best pricing, but in the long term they
| might think, 'sod this, we are going to take them to the Office of Fair
| Trading'," he said.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/05/14/microsoft-clings-schools-deal
Becta blocking modernisation of school's ICT
,----[ Quote ]
| In a report published today Becta, the government agency responsible for
| advising schools on technology, has been accused of blocking schools from
| meeting their carbon emissions targets and limiting choice in the procurement
| of ICT solutions. The Becta Procurement Framework, a list of preferred ICT
| suppliers, is labelled a 'closed shop' that promotes 'business croynism' and
| forces schools to buy expensive, power-hungry technologies that do little to
| prepare students for the workplace.
`----
http://www.siriusit.co.uk/news/becta-blocking-modernisation-of-schools-ict.html
Becta exec admits mistakes on education IT
,----[ Quote ]
| At the BETT trade show earlier this month, Becta director of educational
| content Dave Hassell conceded that the education IT quango has been guilty of
| poor deployments.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/21/becta_bett_it_burden/
Related:
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
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/
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
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/
Microsoft's academic licensing programmes: Interim report with recommendations
for improving value for money
,----[ Quote ]
| Summary and recommedations:... This interim report sets out the
| initial findings of Becta's review, which concluded that Microsoft's
| licensing arrangements in the education sector are characterised by:
|
| * Significant potential for institutions to find themselves
| 'locked in' to Microsoft's subscription licensing arrangements
| * Very significant complexity leading to a lack of
| understanding at institution level that has resulted in
| widespread use of inappropriate licensing strategies
|
| Becta found that the range of subscription licensing models available
| to the academic sector was more restrictive than those available
| generally, and that it was very difficult for educational
| institutions to identify crucial information on the costs of
| exiting their Microsoft agreement by converting from a subscription
| payment to a perpetual license (the buy-out cost).
|
| Becta further identified that these buy-ouot costs were
| significant....In respect of avoiding potential lock-in, Becta
| found that ... academic customers have no access to a version of
| a Microsoft subscription agreement that automatically grants a
| right to use the software in perpetuity....
|
| Microsoft's subscription licensing agreements are all or nothing:
| in other words, if a school wants to cover any of its ICT estate
| using a subscription agreement, it must cover all its 'eligible
| PCs'. Microsoft has set the definition of an eligible PC as any
| computer with a specification of a PII processor or higher (the
| Pii was launched in 1997). The eligible PC definition also includes
| Apple Macintosh computers (G3 or higher). This approach results
| in over-licensing, double licensing and other anomolies.
`----
http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=28197&page=1835
Local Authorities avoid Becta framework as Europe opens investigation
,----[ Quote ]
| Local Authorities are avoiding the use of Becta's framework
| procurement for Learning Platforms, while the European
| Commission has formally registered Alpha Learning's
| complaint that the framework failed to comply with
| European regulations for public procurement.
`----
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9549
OSC joins criticism of UK education's attitude to open source
,----[ Quote ]
| Open Source Consortium president, Mark Taylor, has been in contact to
| voice its opinion on the controversy surrounding Becta's purchasing
| frameworks and the adoption of open source adoption in UK schools.
|
| In short, it doesn't make happy reading for Becta. "The essence of
| our concern is that they're saying one thing and actually pursuing
| policies that are exclusive," he said. "Becta's own research shows there
| are major benefits [with open source], however the reality of the
| framework is that it excludes both products and services."
`----
http://www.businessreviewonline.com/os/archives/2006/11/osc_joins_criti.html
UK Government criticised for stifling open source in schools
,----[ Quote ]
| MP Pugh reckons shcools should support independent or open source
| software firms. He says, "In my experience a school is a key part
| of the community and as such has a role to play in the economy of
| that community. By supporting SMEs the local high-technology
| industry will be encouraged which will benefit everyone."
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36464
Becta under fire for procurement framework
,----[ Quote ]
| Nineteen MPs have accused a government agency of restricting the
| procurement of software in schools.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/29/becta_procurement_criticised/
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux)
iD8DBQFIMmbXU4xAY3RXLo4RAlzfAKCSO6vxcrvCkUUcbGhAiOzy9CnI4wCgiS1d
oAKXnHz/MWY4qHGXLIFVGJI=
=CPES
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
|
|
