Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Sinks Teeth Into New Orleans
An anonymous reader writes: "The New Orleans Times-Picayune is reporting that Mayor Nagin is considering letting Microsoft upgrade the city's computers free of charge. The catch? New Orleans eventually has to buy the software and Microsoft gets to use the city as a marketing model to push this on the rest of the country." According to the article, a similar system Microsoft developed for Oklahoma "is expected to expand into accident reporting, video arraignment and automated pawn-shop-ticket tracking." So don't worry about privacy -- it's all taken care of. Open bidding's taken care of too: "Because these services are considered a gift, the city won't have to publicly bid the project." Sounds like dirty pool to me.
Consider these handcuffs a gift from Microsoft.
Go ahead. Try them on. Fits real nice, huh?
You will, of course, have to pay for them later.
-----
The angel in the oatmeal.
Does the entire city now have to read and agree to microsoft's EULA?
.noitacidem deen uoy siht daer nac uoy fI
They're offering them a good deal, they're not suing them. For the non-initiated, it's called business.
From the Article:
New Orleans police will be using a system Microsoft developed for the state of Oklahoma. Dubbed the Offender Data Information System, the system can link dozens of law enforcement agencies, jails and court systems.
From the Blues Brothers:
Elwood:"I bet these cops got SCMODS."
Jake:"SCMODS?"
Elwood:"State, County, Municiple Offender Data System."
Jake:"Shit!"
It shuts out network OS competition, and it shuts out hundreds of companies that develop applications for cities and governments.
A lot of cities and their respective police departments have a "no gift" policy. In other words, an officer or government official cannot accept a gift - as it could be seen as a bribe.
No. Wait. It *is* a bribe.
"Here, take this software for free so you will be stuck in my neverending upgrade cycle. You'll have to pay me later, then pay me again when you go to upgrade."
Something stinks here..
= Grow a brain...
The article says they eventually have to buy software, as in down the road they'll pay for software but not the stuff that is being given to them. I'm from New Orleans, and frankly unless something like this happened, there is no way our city's information infrastructure was going to be overhauled. In the article, it said it was saving us $100 million. Except that New Orleans doesn't have $100 million to spend.
They're not just talking about giving away unlimited copies of Windows XP, they're talking about modernizing and developing systems that antiquated or non-existant. City gov't could go download all the copies of Linux they like, but they still would have to pay people to build the databases and various systems our city lacks. I recently got a traffic ticket down here. On the ticket it tells you can pay on the web or by phone. Guess what? Those systems simply don't exist! Our city's IT capabilities are in shambles.
Sorry fellas, but this is GOOD thing for the city of New Orleans.
MikeAtIF*ckStuffedAnimalsDotCom
Everyone here is smarter than the politicians in New Orleans.
Hmmmmm.
That sounds about right.
-- You see, there would be these conclusions that you could jump to
Here in Peru, the response from M$ to the Open Source proposal was not only the easily rebutted FUD letter. There was also a 'donation' of computers and software to the schools. All free, of course... for 5 years. after that, we'll have to pay for the priviledge of being locked-in with the propietary formats.
And the same line: "Since it's a donation, there was no public bidding", and it will make impossible to apply the OpenSource law (if it would be approved).
How can we escape? having no money is no longer a defense from being robbed
-Kz-
According to the Slashdot story... "New Orleans eventually has to buy the software..."
Yet, the article says... Eventually, he added, the city will have to purchase software from the company...
The article would suggest that future software will not be free. Not that the current software will, in the future, have to be purchased. A minor detail perhaps, but it does explain why the software is a gift.
It would be like a gun maker giving pistols to a police department a substantial savings, but making them purchase their own magazines, springs, etc.
I personally don't see a problem with what Microsoft is doing.
If there's a contract involved.
Microsoft is stipulating that they buy in the future, according to the article. There's an obvious transfer of value between parties.
If I were in the position to bid in one of those cities, believe me, I would sue.
Based on upvotes, Ageism is the only "-ism" Slashdotters care about and think isn't SJW
How can it be a "gift" if it must be purchased? Is Arthur Anderson involved in the deal somehow?
Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.
If they're indeed trying to get around the open bidding requirement (I assume such exists), then it's called dirty business.
Belief is the currency of delusion.
"Eventually, he added, the city will have to purchase software from the company, but he said it would be a "minuscule" expense."
It doesn't say they will have to purchase THE software from Microsoft, only that they will have to eventually buy software from Microsoft. Granted, it isn't very specific, but get your shit straight.
New Orleans News
City may get free Microsoft makeover
Typo: the "m" is makeover should read "t".
We appologize for the error.
-
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
As much as it might seem shady, the reality here is that Microsoft is just acting like a business -- trying to find ways to get around spending processes to get their products into new areas. If they were passing up the opportunities like this, I (were I a stockholder) would be screaming for the head of the sales dept.
The ones who ought to be ashamed here are the New Orleans officals who are trying to sidestep the processes set up to discourage, well, this sort of thing. They may be following the letter of the law, but they're blatently violating the spirit.
It's up to the voters to punish them.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Fantastic! Now someone just needs to write free drop in replacements for the pieces MS is providing. MS can spend their resources on requirement analysis and setup, and when it is time to collect revenue, discover that they have been replaced. Maybe a large company with an interest in denying MS income would be willing to sponsor such a project.
From the article, refering to the new Offender Data Information System, "It gives them a lot more weapons in fighting crime," Meffert said. The reality? "We can not wield it! None of us can!"
A steaming cup of soykaf would be real wiz right now.
New Orleans is known for booze, sex and debauchery.
:)
You think they would have chosen BSD.
.
Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
The first shot is free, but that is just to get you hooked on it. Once you're hooked, prices go through the roof and they will take everything you have.
--- Hindsight is 20/20, but walking backwards is not the answer.
Is microsoft going to "give" them software And hardware, or just a bunch of software?
::calls new outlets::"
"Upgrading Systems" isnt a very clear term.
IF they are giving them a bunch of hardware And software, hey no problem, let them spend the $$, and they can just say to microsoft in X years, "Oh sorry, we actually broke bid laws since we Do end up paying you, so, we cant pay you. Oh, and those systems are critical to our police doing their job, you cant have them back. What, you would cripple an entire city's ability to fight crime?!
If its just software, then , well, Is there even anything Like this being done in the *nix world ?
from the article : "New Orleans police will be using a system Microsoft developed for the state of Oklahoma. Dubbed the Offender Data Information System, the system can link dozens of law enforcement agencies, jails and court systems. A virtual crime-fighting tool, the system also provides officers with online mug shots of suspects, warrants and other data. In Oklahoma, the system is expected to expand into accident reporting, video arraignment and automated pawn-shop-ticket tracking. "
Isn't Microsoft cutting it a bit close? A penny more and they'd be overcharging.
Game... blouses.
Basically, Nagin got elected on a platform of cleaning up the corruption and he'd sign a contract with the Devil himself to get rid of the current scumbags. Wait, he actually did just do that. Well, I for one can't blame him under the circumstances.
Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
New Orleans wants to be a sacrificial lamb.
They can take Microsoft down a notch when they crash.
How many people are going to mourn either of the co-victims? Not many, I'll wager.
There is no gift here...This is a bribe... If this were a gift, there would be no other obligation. In other words no future payments required.
DRM? No thanks, I'll just get it somewhere else...
Yeah.
Why the hell don't Red Hat's marketing department get off their a*ses and make a similar offer EVERY TIME Microsoft tries something like this.
Red Hat are a commercial entity, and obviously want to make money. But why don't they offer government organisations like this all the free software they could want, for no money EVER, and just charge them for supporting it?
Get the razor almost free and then buy razorblades at a high price.
We will be seeing alot more like this in the future. I think Microsoft gladly loose money if they can keep linux off government and cities.
HTTP/1.1 400
One must wonder just what the Mayor would say to a free gift of Redhat with NO contract to buy in the future? Someone living in New Orleans may want to offer such a gift.
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I see your point, but the question is, "are you going from the the frying pan to the fire."
And the honest answer is, "I don't know."
My
Limekiller
This is almost certainly Bad Politican Math. Who came up with the number? Whom did they consult? I think it is shady, if not illegal, that
Did he get those numbers from Microsoft? Perhaps there was an ulterior motive in them?
We don't really know if this is the best solution, because
I'm reminded of the KIA commercial where one guy is bragging about buying the most expensive car in America and KIA guy comments, "Well, mine is the least expensive... I guess I saved $493,000" at which Obligatory Babe's eyes light up in awe of his fortune.
Whenever anyone advertises using the line "Such a good deal, you can't afford not to buy", you should take a pass.
The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
It's surprising that Microsoft is bothering with Government applications. The margins aren't that big. That field has usually been addressed by companies that did mostly Government work, like EDS, Unisys, and the government business unit of IBM. This may reflect a major strategy change for Microsoft, moving towards owning the customer in the classic IBM way, with lots of Microsoft people onsite at the customer location.
Some points:
1. A sneaky deal? Sounds like it, but Microsoft does represent computers to the 99.99 percent of the population that doesn't read Slashdot.
2. Sneaky deals and monopolism aside, the simple fact that Microsoft is a corportation allows them to speak with one voice and make a coherent proposal that has a real chance of being implemented.
3. So...how could the free software/open sourcee world do the same thing? How could a similar wall-to-wall open source solution be offered to New Orleans? Does such an institution exist, or is the notion antithetical to the community?
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
Actually, it's a conceptual loophole. Gifts to individual civil servants are banned. Gifts to the agency as a whole usually are not -- it's considered the act of a public benefactor. Hah!
The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
Big computer companies have been using this tactic for decades.
.
You want to enter a marketplace? First problem is you haven't got a reference site so noone will take you seriously.
So you buy yourself a reference site and shower them with goodies to make sure the software, hardware and services all hang together. Now you can go to other related businesses with a credible offer.
For this to work, the vendor has to have deep enough pockets to make the showcase site a success, and time enough to do the job properly. Secondly the marketplace has to be broad enough to replicate the showcase to a goodly number of real paying customers.
Nothing wrong here, quite the reverse, it's good business to invest time and effort on satisfying customer demand.
This sort of strategy is popular in the public sector, with regional governments and the like. They all have broadly similar requirements, and are strapped for cash, so that someone will likely be prepared to take the risk of being the trial site. I have also seen it work in smaller banks, the ones who can't really afford to develop new solutions in house.
The upside for the vendor is that you get a pretty much captive market: the customer can't usually afford to pay for any alternative system. This means that you can sell them related services at a premium rate year after year.
The downside is that the margins are hit initially, after all you had to buy the business. Further, if the target marketplace is not actually as homogeneous as you thought, then there can be expensive customisation required for new clients. They won't take the offering just as a package so the perceived risk and cost goes up, meaning that your expensive reference site is not quite so compelling.
The downside for the customer comes when the vendor's pockets aren't so deep, and they are in a hurry for profit.
There are quite a few spins on this strategy, the worst of which is "break the customer's leg and then sell them a splint". In other words, you get 6 months into the project before revealing that there are significant "special" problems that can be blamed on the customer. These "problems" are outside the scope of the original agreement and the customer has to write some cheques to cover it. 6 months later, new unexpected problems crop up . . .
Well MS has the deep pockets for this kind of work, but they are in a hurry. Tough call to decide whether it's good business or not.
Modernizing and devolpment are great, but just like Linux, New Orleans is going to need people to support Windows. Even at a smaller college here in Minnesota, it can take a lot of man hours to get a new system up and running (whether its wireless, a new mail server, or just updating 300 new computers)
Getting ahead now is fine, but what is Microsft going to say 5 years from now when its time to upgrade again? Do you really think they'll allow the city to keep its copies of Windows XP when the special license agreement says they must upgrade or else?
How about maintaining systems that have known major security flaws? Someone finding out you got a traffic ticket might not be a big deal, but what about the fact you got arrested 12 years ago, or how much money you make... Not that Linux is totally secure, but theres a lot easier ways of fixing problems once they're found.
If you need a system customized for running a traffic ticket managment system, then Linux can be customized to do so. Do you need a way to keep track of city salaries, Linux can do a better job of managing a database of names and income levels.
If the city doesn't have money to buy software, how are they going to afford the actual hardware to run XP on? Its great for gaming if you can have that 2GHz P4, but for older systems its just going to hold things back.
the "marketing model to push this on the rest of the country" part of the contract has kicked in, you mean?
/. then.
Bet New Orleans gets burned on this deal sometime in the next 5 years;) see ya back at
Sdelat' Ameriku velikoy Snova!
Financial resources aside, where else can New Orleans go to get this done? IBM? Sun? Oracle? Lockheed-Martin? The alternatives are few. Who in the open source world could handle this?
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
I truly don't have a problem with Microsoft should supply New Orleans with software. On the other hand I don't like the way it's done this time, at all.
Microsoft is here trapping New Orleans in a slick way and the mayor of New Orleans is obviously terribly short sighted and porly informed. The problem in any government, county, municipial etc. is that technical decitions are made by politicians or poorly educated/bribed advisors and not by well educated consultans with a broad software experience.
Look a monkey!
If this was Redhat doing this it would be praised.
...to pick the leat corrupt city in the whole of the US as their starting point.
-- SIGFPE
Now M$ gets to have a base of operation where the officials are officially corrupt (I know an ex-Nor'leans cop,) and where chyrrosis of the liver is death by natural causes.
They can stop worrying about those pesky revenuers now.
You buy "Boudreau" or "Thibodeau", real cheap, and they stays bought as long as you can pay. I ga-ron-tee eet.
Think of it as "SeaLand" [http://www.sealandgov.com/] without the kiddie-porn restrictions.
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
"Microsoft Sinks Teeth Into New Orleans"
with a counter headline being something like
"Linux wins over hearts and souls of Germany"
Its just business, leave the emotions at the door if you want to perform your best. Microsoft did in 1981 and if linux wants a bigger market they will too.
This whole thing reminds me of a rather parallel situation that goes on all the time in the musical instrument sales business.
A small manufacturer develops a great new product, and starts working on building a customer-base for it.
Along comes a music "superstore" such as Guitar Center or Mars. They woo the manufacturer, saying "Hey, we absolutely *love* your new product and want to carry it in all of our stores. We'll make you a really sweet deal, paying you X amount each with a guarantee that we'll buy at least 40,000 units up-front, and thousands per month after that!"
Of course, the little manufacturer thinks "Wow, how can I go wrong? This is the break I was looking for!" They proceed to spend large amounts of investment money to ramp up production to meet the needs of the music superstore and everything looks great.
That is - until the contract comes up for renewal. Then the story changes. "Hey pal, we're not really making much money off this product of yours. If you don't start selling them to us for under price Y, we'll just quit carrying it and go with a competitor." All of a sudden, the small manufacturer realizes he's stuck in a permanent marriage with the music superstore, and pretty much on *their* terms.
Consider the rhetoric here:
"a city of the future" (hype)
"miniscule expense" (no evidence)
"$100 million savings" (no evidence)
"more weapons for fighting crime" (hype)
This is a political sales pitch, pure and simple, and even worse, it involves an end-run around a process that was designed to protect the public's interest.
While I agree that cities may have a problem with their current technology, solving it by digging a huge pit, and then slowly burying yourself as a company like M$ begins to extort larger and larger sums of money (in the form of licensing/support agreements, of course), isn't the way to go.
No, he's right it did say some.
From the article:
"Eventually, he added, the city will have to purchase software from the company, but he said it would be a "minuscule" expense."
It never said "THE" software; the slashdot story is misleading... what a surprise.
Aw, fuck it. Let's go bowling. - The Big Lebowski
Open bidding's taken care of too: "Because these services are considered a gift, the city won't have to publicly bid the project." Sounds like dirty pool to me.
If its legally considered a gift, that means there can be no consideration of future payment involved. They should just take the gift and then later bid it out anyway.
The usual alternative is J2EE, with one of the more reliable open-source databases on the back end.
No way!
Looks like Microsoft has found its perfect partner in crime.
pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
Why leave it to Red Hat? Any organized band of Open Sourcerors could go into any town and slap together a pretty good infrastructure using cheap hardware and the GPL'd distro and daemons of choice. If they keep a record of the steps taken, this can be posted as a HOWTO. The model of "We'll get it going for free, and then members of our team will compete on the open market for support contracts after the first X months of operation," would have to look better than Microsoft's "We'll get it going for free, and then you're locked into us for decades as a sole-source vendor."
The only question - the critical one - is how to form an anarchic gang of Open Sourcerors into something a town could feel responsible contracting with. First genius to figure that out will have done as much as Linus to afford us all prosperous consulting careers down the road. So, how to form our Seven Sourceri, and take on the gang terrorizing the town "for its own good"?
"with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
I wonder how much the city will save after the lawsuits from Sun, IBM, Red Hat, et al, are settled?
"Thou shalt not kill" is a mistranslation that found its way into Latin and English translations. The original text would more accurately be translated "thou shalt not murder"...this is the original (Hebrew) text. It is also how it was translated to Greek, so there are some translations that managed to get it right. Thanks for playing, though.
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
Nope, reread the article, it doesn't say anything about NOLA being restricted to using ONLY MS products.
Further, IFF you know anything about MS server products, the consulting and aftermarket business they generate is astonishing.If you're running an MS shop, you will quickly learn the meaning of TCO. And network security. And data redundancy.
"It *is* a bribe."
One man's bribe is another man inducement. Whether we're talking about Triple Coupon Day, Zero Dollars Down on a Lexus, Zero Percent Financing on a Chevy or a Free Hot Wax with every Car Wash on Tuesday.
MS don't have any real position in goverment software systems, so they can't be accused of market domination. That means they're safe from any legal blowback.
HEY, I HAVE AN IDEA!!!!
Why doesn't RedHat or Mandrake or Debian make a counter-offer to NOLA to provide them with LINUX systems, tit for tat, for all the services that MS is offering?
Think what a great headline that would be for LINUX.
"Entire City of New Orleans goes OpenSource."
That's how you play and that's how you beat them. Competition. The Amurrican Way.
BTW, you do realize, don't you, that this is a rather BIG validation of "free software" (small 'f"), and MS has done little in the last few years but tell everyone that "free software is worth what you pay for it.
Interesting, that they're "giving it away".
What could that mean? HMMMMMMMM
Ten quid, she's so easy to blind. And not a word is spoken...
Microsoft gives N'Orleans the first one and they have to pay later? Like drug pushers? (First one's free).
New Orleans has a larger looming problem if they head down this path: the cost of hardware upgrades.
The problem with tying oneself to M$ is that you need more powerful hardware everytime they release a new version of bloatware.
If New Orleans can't buy software, how the hell are they going to keep upgrading their hardware with every release?
They *do*. You download the goddamn ISOs for free, burn them, and then purchase commercial support.
MS is still on top because more people know their software, because they're agressive and nasty about keeping file formats and protocols their own, because there is no good free MS Word equivalent for Linux, and because they can afford pay off the right people.
May we never see th
The one regional newspaper, the Times Picayune, does not put much of its content online. The story has gotten a lot of play in the local media but it's still local politics so I haven't seen it on the major news sites.
Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
"You download the goddamn ISOs for free....."
Is that right? Wow, you really taught me something there I don't know already...
OK, so you know that, and I know that, but do they (the people that make the decisions) know that?
Almost certainly not. It's not their job to know.
Which is why Red Hat, or IBM, or a trustable (to them) organisation of groups and individuals should be talking to them and explaining the alternatives, and the advantages of the alternatives.
www.eFax.com are spammers
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=index&cid
One of the local TV stations puts up content on a Yahoo channel, link above. Lots of reading about the Nagin administration's raiding of city hall and all that fun stuff that's been going on here lately as part of the cleanup campaign.
I'm sure Nagin is getting death threats from many different sources, he's arrested half of city hall by now.
<flame><offtopic>
The TP (Times Picayune) is a fine example of the how to not use technology for content. All the newspapers in the area use local "new media" companies to publish their internet content for them. They do a piss poor job. </offtopic></flame>
...Time is the best teacher, unfortunately it kills all of its students.
New Orleans citizen: "Blue flashing traffic light? Hmmm. I have never seen that before, 'cept at Kmart".
Table-ized A.I.
..the aversion to a public bidding process.
If the mayor had some amount of intelligence, he could say, "Look, we gotta have a proper bidding process here, but feel free to offer your stuff on the same terms for the bid."
This way, he'd avoid bribery allegations and it would also open things up for an even better offer to come through. Also, if Microsoft won (which I would actually expect, especially if they're offering migration support as well as software) they could then point to the city and say "See? Our software got chosen over supposedly 'free' software. Our software is therefore better, and that's why we charge."
Easy opportunity for a double win for MS (they get their test city and get it in an open bid) and a double win for the mayor. (He's squeaky clean, plus gets his free software)
Is there some flaw in the logic that MS and the mayor are seeing here that I've missed, or are they just going blind?
That Jesus Christ guy is getting some terrible lag... it took him 3 days to respawn! -NJ CoolBreeze
Yes, yes, corporate America could run government much better than elected officials. Of course they could. If only the chiefs of AOL, Enron, Philip Morris, and Worldcom were running our local, state, and federal governments, things would be so much more efficient.
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
Since I'm the one paying the taxes, it should be my decision.
...
I care about my own welfare above theirs, and don't see the point in wasting my tax dollars to sustain their lives, when it isn't contributing anything back to "the community".
Excellent!! So I get to pull the switch on everybody in state run nursing homes and state hospitals?
I guess if you can't pull your weight it's time to suck the pipe.
Do you even try to think about what you're saying?
How about if ALL CITIES are made to run on an entirely Microsoft infrastructure?
Too much power. I'm sorry. Executive/legislature/judiciary is enough. We don't need to go executive/legislature/judiciary/Microsoft.
If you don't own the thing, you haven't purchased it and the purchasing cost can be zero. You're just paying X$ per month/year/whatever, and when you stop, they shut everything off.
This isn't a gift, it's a loss leader. How can they circumvent competitive tender regulations by pretending the first part of a huge lucrative deal is a gift. It's crazy. Microsoft isn't giving them the hardware because they think they will lose money on this deal. Just how dumb are these civic leaders?
Of course, people are quite correct to point out that this kind of tactic is common in business. It's still stupid for governments to fall for it. Public tendering is the way to go for any big government purchase - heck, for any big purchase.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
The problem is that there was no bid process. Clearly Microsoft gains in this, or they wouldn't do it. Shouldn't others be able to show how their solution would be even better for the city long-term, and the potential problems with the existing solution?
This is the entire reason that government entities have bid processes - to make sure that noone is slimeballing their way into making the city pay out large sums of money. In this case, the payment is delayed, but the lock-in is evident.
Engineering and the Ultimate
They've already taken us over, dude. Tulsa City is the worst.
Engineering and the Ultimate
Elwood:"I bet these cops got SCMODS."
Jake:"SCMODS?"
Elwood:"State, County, Municiple Offender Data System."
Jake:"Shit!"
[ Cops remain in cruiser for 5 minutes, waiting for Windoze to reboot...]
[ Camera pans to Police Data Display, as the MS logo changes to white characters on a blue background. ]
Cop: "Shit! It's the blue screen of death! Again!"
[ Cop steps out of car, approached Jake & Elwood ]
Cop: "Well Elwood, I would run a more thorough search, but our computers are down, I'll have to let you off with just a warning."
Elwood: "Have you guys ever heard of Linux?
Cop: What's that? Does it link to my GPS database of doughnut shops?
Elwood: Never mind.
1. This is an HUGE OPPORTUNITY for some LINUX distro and Company with hair to get some media exposure (FREE marketing -- hard to comeby in this world).
2. If NOLA + MS is going to short-circuit the bid process, why shouldn't EVERYBODY get to play? (BTW, this is almost certainly a ***LEGAL*** circumvention of the bid process -- very few governmental entities have a rule against accepting ***FREE*** anything, as long as it is NOT an attempt to gain POLTICAL FAVOR). This is VERY, VERY slick on MS' part.
3. VERY FEW Federal, State, Regional, Municipal entities have a F*****G CLUE when it comes to IT procurement. They are freq well behind industry in IT acquisition/deployment (not all that many corporations are great at it either).
So, NOLA is gonna do whatever NOLA is gonna do. Courts might reverse it later, much later. Probably not (separation of powers and all that).
I suggest you consider what my main man, StevieB, has probably already figured out...once a few 2nd/3rd tier munincipalities have adopted a 'City Wide' apps and services vendor (WHOEVER that is) it will MUCH, MUCH easier to sell the rest of them.
Procurement specialists (need to be careful about discussing 'procurement' in NOLA -- my favorite American city) in government jobs are VERY, VERY conservative and follow a "herd rule". Once a few of these entities adopts a given solution, many/most of the others will follow.
We can sit on the sidlines and cry "Foul" and ask for the "Ref" to intercede (and we've all seen how effective that strategy is, haven't we?), or we return the punch.
Quod erat demonstrandum...
Ten quid, she's so easy to blind. And not a word is spoken...
Well, when arguments run dry, you can always resort to karma attacks. :P
--
"I'm surfin the dead zone
In the twilight, unknown"
If I remember right, fletch 2 took place in thibideux louisiana. I'm not shocked that life is going to imitate art!
If you need a system customized for running a traffic ticket managment system, then Linux can be customized to do so. Do you need a way to keep track of city salaries, Linux can do a better job of managing a database of names and income levels.
Oh, really?
What evidence do you have of this?
How many cities do you know of that use Linux to run their traffic lights, manage their employee information, or do any of the other things you mention?
Getting ahead now is fine, but what is Microsft going to say 5 years from now when its time to upgrade again? Do you really think they'll allow the city to keep its copies of Windows XP when the special license agreement says they must upgrade or else?
I have never seen such an agreement on any piece of software (Microsoft included) I have owned. Can you explain the terms of this agreement further, or are you just FUD-mongering?
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Hmmm... that sounds cool. Time to start writing my own "translations..."
You're certainly right about that. The logical solution is then to fix the system so that the above statement is no longer correct, and yet not execute innocent people. You wouldn't think it would be so hard..
Do you think MS would provide hardware without a clause in the contract stating New Orleans would have to give the computers back if they installed other operating systems on them? :)
Jawohl-Fucking Nazi git
WTF they gonna do when Billy says the licence has expired. They'll be fucked.
USM: The United States of Microsoft.