YESTERDAY we wrote about the EPO's special treatment of Windows users, whereupon we received some feedback about the Web-based alternative, which we already knew about (and it hardly changes anything we wrote anyway). In fact, one reader wrote to tell us about "Microsoft at EPO" and explained what Web-based means inside the EPO. To quote: "Interesting post about the EPO's tendency to fraternise with the Dark Side. Thanks. It really is absurd in 2016 that the EPO should expect its customers to use Windows. However, the EPO is catching up; it also has a web-based portal, which is of course platform independent. Mind you, "platform independent" means something different in EPO-speak; it means that you can use the web-based portal if you are using Firefox (or something called "Internet Explorer", whatever that is) on Microsoft Windows. You need an EPO smart card and a Gemalto USB smart card reader, but the EPO only supplies instructions for setting up the card reader for Windows. It is possible to install the reader drivers on a Mac, or on Linux, but the EPO is a bit coy about how this might be done. For Mac, you first have to phone EPO technical support, and they will email you the link to download the card-reader drivers (the link is not public, because Mac is unsupported). For Linux, you must first obtain the special phone number of an EPO IT guru, explain who you are and why you want to use Linux, and if he is in a good mood he will send you his own personal unofficial copy of the Gemalto drivers for Linux, while warning you of the tribulations which await."

“Mind you, "platform independent" means something different in EPO-speak; it means that you can use the web-based portal if you are using Firefox (or something called "Internet Explorer", whatever that is) on Microsoft Windows.”
      --AnonymousWe are still hoping that someone will shed light on the financial/technical relationship between Microsoft and the secretive EPO (where checks and balances hardly even exist and the presidential contract was taken back into the dark when Battistelli took over).

In order to equip us with verifiable and undeniable information we are still pursuing leaks of Battistelli's contract (which should not be secret in the first place, his successor shared hers) and we are also hoping that someone will leak the EPO's contract with Microsoft (for IT) to us. We bet they grossly overpay, based on what we learned in the past and what some journalists told us. The EPO is very sensitive when it comes to people who explore its relationship with Microsoft, now increasingly notorious for corrupt contracts and bribes (with court rulings confirming this, so no point sending me more threatening letters, Mr. Battistelli). ⬆

"I would love to see all open source innovation happen on top of Windows." [even Ubuntu/Bash?]

--Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO