Re: [PLUG] Interesting thread on SEUL-EDU mailing list...

["Kyle R . Burton" <mortis@voicenet.com>]

> It's obvious that the goal of MS here is to get the schools to pay for a
> copy of windows on every PC, wether is is used or not, in the hopes that
> it will foster an attitude of "well we paid for it, we may as well use it,
> instead of fussing with this 'linux' junk"... just like the contracts with
> the PC makers, where they have to pay for windows  on each PC, installed
> or not.

Yes.  That is something that frustrates me at a personal level.

> I don't see why a school would go along with this though, I don't see that
> MS has any power to force an audit, and even if they did, what does the
> school have to hide?  Even if they have some unlicensed copies, it would
> still be less than the total number of computers if they are using other
> OSs elsewhere.

I think the arrement allows teachers to additionaly use the software at 
home for school activities.  One, apparently, rarely considered aspect
of that is that they're not permitted to use it at home for non-school
related activites, and another issue that (I think this is something that 
MS is using as leverage to get the schools to pay for blanket licenses 
regardless of usage) is that a teacher might leave the school (get another
job).

MS has the power to force an audit through the BSA.  Since most school 
districts are run/owned by local government, that gives the BSA more 
leagal/political power over school districts.

The problem with software audits is that they cost the school significant
resources that they don't have -- they have to set aside personell to 
organize and collect the licenses, and find out how many installed versions 
of each peice of software there are (remember, if you're not under the 
agreement, a teacher's persnal pc isn't covered, so that's potentialy 
several licneses that someone has to pay for).  

Another really sad issue relating to this is that for years and years,
most people have felt that the paper license agreement had no value.
So most users are trained (and that training is re-enforced by other users)
to not bother to keep track of it -- or commonly throw it away.  Sysadmins
also have a tendancy to do this because they don't want to bother keeping,
and maintaining filing cabnets full of license agreements.  So the schools
face a kind of double jeopardy with the audit -- they may have paid for
100 copies of windows and 100 copies of MS office, but still have paper
licenses for only 50 of those -- which is in the eyes of the BSA the same
thing as 50 unlicensed copies, which _must_ be paid for.

A BSA audit can result in fines, not just the need to purchase new licenses.
MS is offering the blanket agreement as a way to avoid all the hastle of
an audit.  Its not quite exactly unlike extortion (IMO).

I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not completely versed in all of the details, but
I can imagine that MS has alot of opportunity to take advantage of user
ignorance to use strong-arm tactics to get the schools to sign up for the
blanket agreements.


I'm going to stop now because I'm getting worked up about this :)

Kyle

-- 

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