Birmingham drops Linux project
p2pnet.net News:- England’s Birmingham City Council, on the verge of adopting Linux, did an abrupt about face after Bill and the Boyz suddenly came up with significant discounts on XP.
But Microsoft insists the council didn’t abandon Linux in favour of XP because of that, says CNET News, going on:
“Birmingham City Council had planned to roll out 1,500 Linux PCs across its libraries, but in the end converted just 200 PCs.
“Industry experts have suggested that Microsoft offered Birmingham special discounts to sway the balance in favor of XP. But Microsoft firmly denied these allegations. Asked whether Microsoft had offered special discounts to Birmingham, Nick McGrath, head of platform strategy told ZDNet UK, ‘No, not all. We are in discussions with every single local authority. There is a common buying framework’.”
Meanwhile, “Several industry watchers have voiced their concerns about the project, particularly around the number of PCs rolled out,” says OSDIR.com, going on:
“Birmingham’s expenditure averaged over 2,500 pounds per PC and, ‘That’s ridiculous,’ said Eddie Bleasdale, the owner of open-source consultancy NetProject and an early participant in the project. ‘It’s an unbelievable cock-up… They decided to do it all themselves, without expertise in the area,’ he added, saying that a lack of skills in open source and secure desktops would undoubtedly have raised costs.”
Microsoft is also in trouble over ceo Steve Balmer’s assertions that Linux infringes on one or more Microsoft patents.
Also See:
CNET News – Microsoft denies role in British Linux flop, November 24, 2006
OSDIR.com – Criticism mounts over Birmingham’s Linux project, November 20, 2006
Balmer’s assertions – Linux, Balmer and flying pigs, November 25, 2006
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