On Jan 22, 12:08 pm, Matt <m...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> > ,----[ Quote ]
> > | I missed this: Gerri Elliott, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President of its
> > | Worldwide Public Sector business, is out.
>
> This is one of the most important positions in Microsoft, because it
> handles the business of the FOSS vs. MS battlegrounds that will be most
> important in the next five to eight years:
This probably indicates that Microsoft has been having problems here.
Microsoft has been trying to keep governments from scuttling
Microsoft's proprietary technology in favor of FOSS based technology.
Many public sector clients are adopting Linux, OpenOffice, and ODF
formats, even if not to the exclusion of Windows and Microsoft
Office. Many governments and government agencies have seriously
considered a policy which mandates that all future documents be
published ONLY in ODF and PDF. Microsoft has tried to stay in the game
by using vaporware, and convincing those who can overrule such
mandates to be more "pragmatic" and allow people to continue to
publish documents in Microsoft Office formats. In effect.
> > Former IBMer Elliott “led a team of more than 1,900 sales and marketing professionals serving government, education and non-privatized health care customers in more than 100 countries,” her bio says.
> > Elliott was a member of the board for Microsoft Unlimited Potential, which develops new business models and technologies to help close the digital divide and bring social and economic opportunity to the estimated five billion people not yet realizing the benefits of technology.
> Unlimited Potential is the part of MS that practically gives XP and
> Office away in poor countries to keep them from migrating to FOSS.
Actually, they "Give Away" XP to people who have received PCs whose
licenses had been nullified by previous corporate owners. In one of
the exhibits in the Combs vs Microsoft case, top executives adopted a
policy that said that these organizations didn't have to pay for
software - but ONLY if the alternative was that they would switch to
Linux. Even then, they strongly discouraged granting licenses for
machines that had not previously been licensed by OEMs. Generous of
Microsoft not to "double-charge" those who were willing to switch to
Linux. Of course, they WERE willing to double-charge those who
weren't really prepared to switch to Linux.
Keep in mind that Red Hat was contributing over 10 million licenses
per year to an NGO that "repurposed" computers deemed "obsolete" by
corporate PC users, along with lease returns. Most of these computers
were shipped to Mexico, South America, Africa, India, and China, and
used or distributed by government agencies.
Dell was willing to contribute up to 100 million lease-return machines
that were converted to Linux. Dell didn't want to contribute Windows
machines because those computers could end up in the hands of people
who were capable of purchasing Windows machines directly from Dell.
> That is the same game they know they will soon have to play in the
> government/school sectors in developed countries.
Actually, they paid off their "settlements" in lawsuits by numerous
states by paying the settlement is licenses for PCs that were running
Linux - in school computer centers. Many of the PCs had been
converted to Linux when new releases of Windows made the existing PCs
"obsolete> The school boards weren't willing to pay full retail price
to purchase brand new computers. Microsoft offered to pay for memory
upgrades that would allow the computers to run Windows XP, along with
the XP licenses.
Amazing enough, even then many schools in low-income areas couldn't
upgrade the PCs because the motherboards couldn't support the memory
upgrades.
The actual memory upgrades and software installs were typically done
by teachers and student volunteers.
> Five to ten years from now they will only be able to get the little guy
> to pay for software. They won't have the money to develop any new
> proprietary software.
Microsoft has already announced that they are cutting several thousand
jobs, including R&D staff. There are also indicators that they might
not try to "Jazz up" Windows 7, or put in "Linux/OSS killers" - and
Windows 7 might even support desktop virtualization. Such a product
could be out much earlier - possibly in as little as 6 months, and
might be well received in a number of markets, including OEMs and
Corporations.
|
|
