Monday, April 22, 2002

Microsoft Targets School Districts -- 4:20 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The M$ Inquisitors are at it again. This time, they are bringing the hammer down on a number of Oregon and Washington school districts. Here's what the author feels might be the rationale behind the timing of these threatened audits:

Ah, but wait. Microsoft has an offer it thinks you can't refuse, if only to avoid the audit: the vaunted Microsoft School Agreement. Under the terms of this agreement, a school or district simply counts its computers and pays Microsoft somewhere in the neighborhood of $42 per machine for one systemwide annual license.

. . .

But Microsoft has put a new spin on the agreement, requiring an "institution-wide commitment." That means the district must include in its count not only the PCs, but all the iMacs and Power Macs that might conceivably use Windows software.

What would it cost Portland Public Schools, which is already facing a $36 million shortfall, to sign that Microsoft School Agreement?

"A rough number? $500,000," Robinson said, "which translates, roughly, into 10 teaching positions."

I hope any teachers who wax poetic about the "incredible educational discounts" Microsoft offers will remember that they are agreeing to subject themselves to this sort of manhandling. Remember, there are alternatives. Thanks Slashdot.

News for 04/22/2002

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