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Victims, villains and heros

It seems that Microsoft are putting the screws on the government over software used on non-Windows computers.

The NZ Herald reports that schools have been ordered to remove MS Office software from some 25,000 Apple computers because Wellington has opted not to yield to Microsoft's seemingly extortionate demands.

Now I'm the first one to stand up for the right of software publisher to be paid for the use of their product. However, we're told that MIcrosoft wanted what amounted to a blanket fee to cover all Apple computers, even though only half of them were running the software involved.

This sounds a bit like the MS Windows tax that we've seen levied on various hardware vendors, even though they might sell some boxes with alternative OSes such as Linux.

Regardless of who's at fault, the effect is that a goodly number of schools will be faced with the option of purchasing MS Office themselves or using some non-mainstream alternative applications.

Microsoft is said to be offering affected schools the chance to buy these apps at "less than retail" prices, although I suspect this is still quite a bit more than the kind of price government could negotiate on a bulk deal.

I doubt that this is a black and white situation though. How many of those Apple computers have "unofficial" MS Office installations for which MS would not be properly compensated I wonder?

If, as Education Minister Steve Maharey claims, only half the Apples have MS Office then only half will be affected by the "order to remove".

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Obviously it's in MS's interest to convince schools to switch to Windows-based systems but please, think of the children :-)

The reality must surely be that it might just be a great idea to treat schools as a loss-leader for your software.

When kids leave school with a goodly amount of experience in MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., it makes *your* products more attractive to the real consumers: SMEs, corporates, governments and home PC users.

If you leave the door open to third parties (especially that evil OSS stuff) then you run the risk that tomorrow's decision makers and achievers become aware that there are alternatives to Bill's offerings.

Unless you're talking about Kapa Haka or lessons in fulfilling our treaty obligations, you'll find that our schools are pretty poorly funded and rely heavily on the good will of staff, parents and the broader community for many of their critical resources.

Is it to be Microsoft "the supporter of our kids' education" or Microsoft "the greedy corporate giant" who puts even a small extra revenue ahead of the best interests of our children?

But let's not allow the government to escape unscathed.

There's a growing international awareness within governments that Microsoft isn't the only game in town.

A small but significant number of countries have taken the bold step of embracing open-source software in preference to being held hostage to MS's sometimes draconian demands.

Should NZ be considering this too?

And what about Apple, could they have a role to play here?

One of the reasons that Apple has succeeded in the education sector is that they tend to be very focused on getting kids acquainted with their products in the sure and certain knowledge that this can and does pay big dividends further down the track. Could Apple step into the fray and make an offer that would encourage schools not to start thinking of their Macs as a far more expensive option to PCs due to this software fiasco?

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Affected schools, Microsoft, Apple and even Mr Maharey are invited to submit their positions on this matter (any clarifications) so that we can all better decide who's a victim, who's a villain and who (if anyone) is a hero.

In the meantime, let's hear how *you* rank the performance of the parties involved and what should be done to remedy the situation.

Have your say on this...

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