MESSAGE
| DATE | 2004-03-11 |
| FROM | Michael Richardson
|
| SUBJECT | RE: [hangout] Army to Gates: Halt the free software
|
;-0Is this part of Software day?
-----Original Message-----
From: Inker, Evan [mailto:EInker-at-gam.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 11:31 AM
To: hangout-at-nylxs.com
Subject: [hangout] Army to Gates: Halt the free software
Army to Gates: Halt the free software
Army to Gates: Halt the free software
By Ina Fried
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/2100-1012-5171976.html
Story last modified March 10, 2004, 4:00 AM PST
Microsoft has been mailing free copies of its pricey Office productivity
software to government employees, but CNET News.com has learned that at
least two federal agencies are warning recipients to return the gifts or
risk violating federal ethics policies.
Since the launch of Office 2003 last year, Microsoft has given out tens of
thousands of free copies of its flagship software, which retails for about
$500, to workers at its biggest customers. The giveaway was expanded to
government workers this year, but ethics offices at the Department of the
Interior and Department of Defense have said the offers constitute
unauthorized gifts and must be returned.
The Department of the Army went a step further, calling on Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates to stop sending the software to Army personnel.
What's new:
As more and more governments around the world begin embracing open-source
software, Microsoft has started giving away its $500 Office program to
federal agencies in the United States.
Bottom line:
"We ask that you cease immediately the mailing of free software, and other
types of gifts, to the Department of the Army personnel," Deputy General
Counsel Matt Reres said in a Feb. 19 letter seen by CNET News.com. "Your
offer of free software places our employees and soldiers in jeopardy of
unknowingly committing a violation of the ethics rules and regulations to
which they have taken an oath to uphold."
The issue comes up as many governments are looking at open-source
alternatives for Office and the Windows operating system. The British
government has been evaluating a switch to the Linux OS, while open-source
software is also being eyed in Korea, China, India and even at some local
agencies in the United States.
Microsoft's giveaway also comes as the company faces ongoing oversight by
the Justice Department as part of its settlement of antitrust allegations.
A Microsoft representative said giving away the software is a way to let
some customers experience new features. "The goal of the program was to give
customers a taste of the software and allow them to learn how it might be of
use to their organizations in a positive way," Microsoft spokesman Keith
Hodson said.
Although Office has captured more than 90 percent of the market for
productivity software, convincing customers to upgrade to the latest
versions of Office has become a growing challenge for the company. And
upgrades are essential to Microsoft: Office and Windows produce
substantially all the company's profits.
To address ethical concerns, Microsoft includes a note with copies of the
software letting government workers know that they can send the software
back to Microsoft without charge if receiving such a gift violates their
agency's rules.
"Government Entities: Microsoft intends that this product be used in
accordance with applicable laws and regulations for the evaluation, use and
benefit of your government agency only," Microsoft states in the note. "You
may, at your discretion, return this product package to Microsoft at its
expense."
Hodson said the company hoped such language would allow any agency that did
not appreciate the offer to easily send back the software.
"Not every government organization, as we're learning, finds it to be a
valuable program," Hodson said. "We would like to think that there will be a
variety of government organizations that will find value in the program."
For now, Microsoft said it will continue the strategy but will stop sending
software to any particular agency that requests the company do so. The
software maker did not say how many copies of the program have been sent to
government employees.
According to the Department of Defense, delivery of the software was
preceded by a card explaining that Office would be arriving "in the coming
weeks" and that the software was being sent "without obligation."
The Defense Department's Standards of Conduct Office was among the first to
take action, warning its workers in a Feb. 13 advisory not to accept the
software.
"These items have been determined to be gifts from a prohibited source, and
may not be accepted by (Defense Department) employees," the agency said in
its advisory. "If received, the items should be returned to Microsoft."
The ethics office of the Department of the Interior said it had not heard
reports of its employees receiving the software, but decided last month to
warn its 65,000 workers after hearing about the Department of Defense's
reaction.
"We looked at it as a marketing gambit," said Arthur Gary, deputy director
of the Interior Department's ethics office. "We just wanted to apply the
gift rules to it."
The department, which oversees national parks and other federal lands,
concluded last month that the software constituted an unacceptable gift--one
valued at more than $20 and from a party with whom the department does
business or whom it regulates. Since issuing the memo, Gary said, the agency
has heard of at least one employee receiving the software.
"We just kind of wanted to spread the word," Gary said. "We want to head off
any problems."
If the response of those two government agencies is any indication of how
other departments will respond, Microsoft may back away from the program.
"Based on an overall response we receive from governments," Hodson said, "we
may look at doing things differently the next time."
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____________________________
NYLXS: New Yorker Free Software Users Scene
Fair Use -
because it's either fair use or useless....
NYLXS is a trademark of NYLXS, Inc
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