MS "Software Choice" Campaign: A Clever Fraud

Bruce Perens writes "Microsoft's new "Software Choice" campaign is all for your right to choose... as long as you choose Microsoft. It's too bad that Intel and the U.S. Government couldn't see through the rhetoric. Read the full story at The Register." Note that California will soon be considering - like Peru - a law to mandate open source software in government. The gloves are off - on both sides.

Comments

Re:alternately

[Rotten168]

I dunno... it seems pretty unconvincing that free software needs to have a law behind it.

I thought you guys were all about freedom?

They just couldn't compete

[WildBeast]

So Open Source couldn't compete with the Allmighty MS so they chose to use the cowards way and try to convince the government to make a law that will force Open Source programs on people. Way to go.

How about hypocrisy hey?

When will people realize

[NSupremo]

Microsoft is for the ignorant.

What about compatibility?

[geekee]

The problem with the author's argument is that he ignored compatibility issues. If 90% of the people use a particular type of softtware, and the govt switches to a new type of incompatible software, it alienates citizens. That brings up the question of why people use a particular type of software. Typically it's because they had one of the 1st products. MS controls the market not because they have the best software, but instead because they were there 1st, long before open source and Linux. That's why their sw is most often used by consumers. Once you start using software, you can't switch without making all your current files obsolete. So how much will that cost taxpayers to manually convert all the files over to the new software? Also, given the the learning curve for linux is steeper than windows, you have to pay sys admins more money. This killins the cost effectiveness arguement of open source somewhat.