[ale] OT-Microsoft loses showdown in Houston

[Frank Zamenski]

Don't mess with Texas.

> This is interesting...
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> -- Joe Knapka
> 
> Dave W <question.everythingUCEWILLBEIGNORED at verizon.net> writes:
> 
> > http://tinyurl.com/4r39
> > 
> > By Byron Acohido, USA TODAY
> > 
> > HOUSTON — The people who run this city recently heard a familiar 
pitch from 
> > Microsoft: Sign up for a multiyear, $12 million software licensing 
plan or 
> > face an audit exposing the city's use of software it hadn't paid 
for.
> > Microsoft demonstrates new projects and upgrades as it tries to 
boost 
> > sales.
> > 
> > 
> > Microsoft warned that the city could be slapped with stiff fines 
for using 
> > any Microsoft software for which it could not produce receipts.
> > 
> > Scores of other businesses and public agencies, facing a similar 
dilemma, 
> > have agreed to the new licensing deals — a linchpin of Microsoft's 
growth 
> > strategy.
> > 
> > Not Houston.
> > 
> > The nation's fourth-largest city rebuffed the offer and has 
embraced an 
> > obscure competitor called SimDesk. SimDesk delivers software over 
the 
> > Internet at a fraction of the cost of Microsoft's Office, a 
software suite 
> > used on 94% of America's office personal computers. Houston is 
giving 
> > SimDesk to tens of thousands of residents and businesses, free. And 
it has 
> > begun using SimDesk as an Office substitute on at least half the 
city's 
> > 13,000 PCs. 
> > 
> > <more at page location>
> > 
> > -- 
> > +-+-+-+-+ +-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
> > |D|a|v|e| |W| |a|a|#|1|9|6|7|
> > +-+-+-+-+ +-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
> > 
> 
> -- 
>   "I'd rather chew my leg off than maintain Java code, which
>    sucks, 'cause I have a lot of Java code to maintain and
>    the leg surgery is starting to get expensive." - Me
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> 
> 



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