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Monopolists Dropped Off At The County Line
An anonymous reader submits: "In
this discussion thread members of PLUG (Phoenix Linux Users Group) may have come up with a way to pressure governmental agencies to switch to software other than that from Microsoft. County purchasing policies in Maricopa County, AZ prohibit purchasing from companies or persons convicted under state or federal antitrust statutes. At least one other county, Coconino, that I have checked so far has similar requirements. I think that it's time to make the government follow their own rules and stop spending any more money with criminals."
This is absurd. Completely, unequivocally absurd. A law set forth in a podunk Arizona county by people who probably shouldn't be remotely involved in lawmaking is not exactly precedent for any type of broad-scale action. How exactly can a government pass laws against purchasing from a particular company, considering the fact that the company is still operating under perfectly LEGAL pretenses and practices? It doesn't make any difference what MS has been charged with or convicted of, because they haven't been sentenced. No court has told microsoft that they can't sell their product anymore, so why should a county not be allowed to buy from them?
I think that it's time to make the government follow their own rules and stop spending any more money with criminals."
This is almost as ridiculous as the law itself. The government hasn't made any rules about spending money on microsoft products, so what rules are you suggesting they follow? That is a totally EMPTY statement and does not belong in a posted article. (Unfortunately, if that same statement were posted anywhere in this discussion, it would be modded +5, Insightful).
It really sucks for the OSS "movement" when this is the only means of market penetration that they can come up with. What exactly are these people hoping to accomplish by forcing their local government to switch?
What do all you MS haters propose then? That state and local governments remove all Windows and MS Office installations bringing your government to a squealing halt? Or better yet, since they've already purchased the software, just prevent them from buying more...That way they can sit on Win95 and Office97 forever. Do you propose they use some kind of Linux instead? I'm not sure about where you live, but I know my local government isn't filled with a lot of computer savvy people. Oh yeah, one more thing...since so many people on here are obsessed with what crimes have or have not been committed by microsoft, I'm willing to bet that all the software/music/games/whatever else you pirate on a daily basis put those to shame. Enjoy! ~Vlade
A very good point, carlos_benj; unfortunately, the PFP (Penguin Festishist Party) looks at any chance to get "The OS loved by Hackers world-wide" as another victory in their "Software Jihad" against Microsoft.
One thing to think about is this: Is "FUD" always misleading? Is "FUD" always dishonest? Has the PFP been guilty of their own "Disinformation Campaign"?
Think about it.
I don't give a rat's behind about "karma" here or anywhere else. Don't like what I have to say here? Deal with it!