Library of Congress's $3M Deal With Microsoft

Cory Doctorow sounds the alarm over a Library of Congress deal with Microsoft that will have collections locked up in Silverlight. I'll double the Microsoft deal and offer them $6M in perl scripts and an infinite value of free OS software if they let me (or Google or any other honest company) publish their collections in free formats. "This deal involves the donation of 'technology, services and funding' (e.g., mostly not money) with a purported value of $3M from Microsoft to the Library of Congress. The Library, in turn, agrees to put kiosks running Vista in the library and to use Microsoft Silverlight to 'help power the library's new Web site, www.myloc.gov.'"

Comments

Sneaky devils

[Bananatree3]

By giving a grant to the largest library in the Land, they strongarm the LoC into remaking their website to be the next promo for Microsoft's proposed Flash-killer. And in the spirit of accessability, they force all visitors to download silverlight, because they couldn't use the currently-dominent Flash.

Go figure :/

LOC Has no IT Staff...?

[BoRegardless]

No knowledge of open source?

No knowledge of the LONG TERM issues of proprietary data formats?

No knowledge of the lock in issues involved in mandating only one OS & hardware platform?

You think the LOC IT department can't read the publications it gets every month?