Check this out....
Microsoft puts the squeeze on NW schools

As reported in this article in the Portland, OR newspaper, The Oregonian, Microsoft is pressuring 24 school districts in the northwest to agree to their Microsoft School Agreement licensing scheme or undergo an audit in 60 days. Multnomah ESD, which covers the greater Portland area and has around 25,000 computers, has to either decide to accept the license at about $500,000 or undergo the audit which it does not have time to prepare for.

What's interesting is how M$ "randomly" targeted the 9 largest school districts in OR and the 15 largest in WA.

[img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img] They're not even trying to be subtle anymore... :eek:

[ 04-22-2002, 03:08 PM: Message edited by: RudeDawg ]

Alright, often I've defended MS.... But this time they've gone too damn far....

When has M$ ever been subtle :mad: And I have to deal with M$ software everyday at work :-/

It seems they are truly like the Borg. That confimed what I already knew. Glad I went Mac!!!

Not to root for the underdog here...but what authority does M$ have to audit anyone? Are they accusing the schools of illegally using their products? If this is a case where the schools are flagrantly pirating software...then they should be spanked....Im not aware of any legal grounds Microsoft would have to send anyone onto school property...hell its hard enough getting permission for the parents to be on school grounds.

They are trying Linux on several of their systems in the district, and they are using Macs in a lot of the classrooms. M$ is accusing them of using Windoze on these systems, and therefore is requesting that they purchase licenses for every computer in the district. The blanket license that schools pay for DOES give M$ the right to audit as they see fit. The problem here is that they've requested the internal audit during the busiest time of the year for the district, and not given them enough time to complete it...
Some of the school's officials think that it's a M$ ploy to stop them from using Linux, but now they are thinking of switching over completely... http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...ons/icon32.gif

They are trying Linux on several of their systems in the district, and they are using Macs in a lot of the classrooms. M$ is accusing them of using Windoze on these systems, and therefore is requesting that they purchase licenses for every computer in the district. The blanket license that schools pay for DOES give M$ the right to audit as they see fit. The problem here is that they've requested the internal audit during the busiest time of the year for the district, and not given them enough time to complete it...
Some of the school's officials think that it's a M$ ploy to stop them from using Linux, but now they are thinking of switching over completely... http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/no...ons/icon32.gif</font>[/QUOTE]I see, makes more sense now...sounds to me like the School system needs to hire a better business manager for making those kinds of contracts... A switch to Linux would be coolness though [img]smile.gif[/img]

It's the standard M$ contract for schools, and it's NON-negotiable. Since most schools use M$ on a lot of their systems, it's hard to justify NOT signing the contract. But it leave you open for this kind of operation. I't like signing your life away when you get MSN and Passport... :eek:

You mean microsoft didnt pay for our schools new computer labs out of the goodness of their heart? Damn I knew they would use this against us somehow.

[ 04-23-2002, 03:56 AM: Message edited by: caleb ]

I wouldn't want to sound like I'm defending MS, but after reading this article I have to agree with Magik concerning having better business advisers at the schools. The article indicates that the school system admits to having a flawed inventory system and therefore are afraid to undergo the audit until they've cleaned up their act.

If I were a taxpayer in those regions I would want to know why the schools didn't have their acts in order...24 districts, 25,000 computers, 60 days. That's an average of 16 computers a day per district to check documentation on...hardly an insurmountable task if checking documentation doesn't include "creating" documentation. ;)