LinuxWorld: Why Austin TX is considering a Microsoft Enterprise license | Linux Today

LinuxWorld: Why Austin TX is considering a Microsoft Enterprise license

Written By
Web Webster
Web Webster
Aug 21, 2001

“…Recently I watched the classic film “Life With
Father,” so strange notions about spending or saving money
shouldn’t have been difficult for me to grok. But a government
employee passing up an opportunity to take credit for saving the
city $200,000? It didn’t make sense.

Digging further, I encountered a source who said off-the-record
that Microsoft was auditing the city, and it faced $15 million in
fines and license fees. A rumored solution to the city’s lack of
vigilance with licenses was to negotiate a long-term contract with
Microsoft.

I contacted the mayor’s office, the city manager’s office, and
members of the city council and asked each to go on the record and
confirm or deny what were, essentially, rumors. I heard silence —
no responses. I filed a Freedom of Information request with Austin,
asking the following:”

Complete
Story

Web Webster

Web Webster

Web Webster has more than 20 years of writing and editorial experience in the tech sector. He’s written and edited news, demand generation, user-focused, and thought leadership content for business software solutions, consumer tech, and Linux Today, he edits and writes for a portfolio of tech industry news and analysis websites including webopedia.com, and DatabaseJournal.com.

Linux Today Logo

LinuxToday is a trusted, contributor-driven news resource supporting all types of Linux users. Our thriving international community engages with us through social media and frequent content contributions aimed at solving problems ranging from personal computing to enterprise-level IT operations. LinuxToday serves as a home for a community that struggles to find comparable information elsewhere on the web.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.