USA Today: Two on How Microsoft’s Licensing Practices are Benefiting Open Source

Microsoft Pitches Schools New Licensing Option

“Sherri Bealkowski, general manager at Microsoft Education
Solutions Group, says, ‘We’re trying to remind everybody that it’s
hard to stay compliant and to make them aware of the different
options they have.’ The audit notices sent to the 500 school
districts is ‘standard practice. We do it all the time,’ she
says.

“One option schools have: Call Eric Harrison at the Multnomah
Educational Service District in Portland, Ore. Since 1997, Harrison
has been developing networks based on the free Linux operating
system. His latest project links 40 older PCs to a single set of
software applications running on a central Linux server computer.
The cost: $200 a seat vs. $1,500 a seat for PCs running Microsoft,
he says…”

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Companies Cringe at Microsoft Licensing

“An April survey of 1,400 companies found 36% would not opt for
the new program and 38% were looking for alternatives to
Microsoft.

“A New Zealand law firm, Clendon Feeney, has filed a complaint
with that nation’s Commerce Commission accusing Microsoft of using
the licensing change to lessen competition and calling for
regulation of its activities in New Zealand.

“Research firm Gartner recently predicted StarOffice, which runs
on the free Linux operating system, could grab 10% of the market
dominated by Microsoft’s Office–a potentially major hit to
Microsoft’s monopoly…”

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