:The Register: MS Locks in UK Schools via 'Special Terms' Sponsorship Deal
The Register: MS Locks in UK Schools via 'Special Terms' Sponsorship Deal Mar 12, 2005, 21 :00 UTC (16 Talkback[s]) (6959 reads) (Other stories by John Lettice)
"A sponsorship deal between Microsoft and the Department for Education and Skills has positioned the giant to be the dominant supplier in UK schools, and according to Register sources is already causing some schools to cancel open source projects 'in case they upset the sponsor [i.e. Microsoft] or the DfES failed their bid.' The rules of the mechanism Microsoft has used, sponsorship for 100 applicants for specialist schools status, at a claimed value of £1.5 million [US$2.9 million/€2.2 million], appear to have been relaxed or even subverted, the effect being to tilt the playing field dramatically in Microsoft's direction..."
