Windows on an iMac (says the invoice); Red Hat's Alternative

A user writes "According to a story at The Register, schools who want to take advantage of educational bulk licensing agreements with Microsoft have to count all PCs (and Macs!), even those not running Windows." One package of software applies to all installed PCs and Macs, including those running Linux or BSD, so schools end up paying for stations that Windows (and other programs) cannot or do not run on. Microsoft's justification is that the agreement requires an "institution-wide commitment." Coincidentally, bc90021 points out that "RedHat announced its Linux Pilot Program for schools today. Designed to improve the overall learning experience for children, seven North Carolina school districts have already joined. One county director is quoted as saying: 'With the money we saved from not buying proprietary licenses, the school district purchased additional resources that directly [a]ffected the learning experience of our students and brought us into the 21st century.'"

Comments

Is an AMD a Pentium?

[MagnaMark]

From the article:

In the US "Microsoft Schools Agreement 3.0," for example, "100 per cent of all Pentiums, Power Macs, iMacs or better" are specified, whereas the FAQ document for the UK Microsoft School Agreement says "You need to count 100% of all Pentiums, Power Macs and iMacs."

So AMD's are OK? Phew!

Yeah, it sucks, but did you look at the pricing?

[Corporate Drone]

OK, it strikes a nerve to see them set those kinds of terms and conditions, but look at the prices:

Windows upgrades $18

Core $15

Office $24

all three of the above $48

SQL server, Visio, FrontPage, Project, Publisher $5 (each)

Vis Studio $2

Looking at their education main page, I believe that this is an annual license fee. However, let's assume you're the head of I.T. for a school district. Do you really think you're going to get a better deal than that for those licenses?

Don't think so. So, you swallow your indignation (if you have any), and buck up...