04.16.09

Are the Microsoft Memoranda of Exclusivity in India and the US Illegal?

Posted in Asia, Europe, Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Vista, Windows at 6:34 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

WE HAVE already been through the reasons (and evidence) why a lot of procurements/tenders are inherently corrupt, usually because they are simply designed in this way. The conditions created simply permit it and as Anthony J. D’Angelo famously said, “If you believe that discrimination exists, it will.”

A couple of days ago we found the article “Govt love for Windows,” which speaks about India.

The party has promised to standardise open standard and open source software in its IT vision, but by its own claim, the IT savvy state government has signed MoUs with Microsoft India Pvt Ltd in the Vibrant Gujarat summit. The aim: to enhance adoption and use of IT in the state education sector using the licensed software.

For those who do not know what Microsoft did in India, we have some leaked documents [1, 2]. The question remains, does the same thing happen in the United States? We sure know that it happens in the United Kingdom where people help expose the problem (there are even lawsuits against the Canadian government over this), but over in the United States it seems like Ken Starks is among the few people who make noise about the government’s blind marriage to Windows (it would be an exaggeration to say so, though). OStatic has this good summary:

According to Texas Department of Information Resources data the state has already spent many millions on Windows Vista deployments and maintenance across more than 40 agencies. Starks’ letter points out that governments around the world are switching to open source, and the Obama administration is pursuing open source at the federal government level as well.

One thing that really jumped out at me from Starks’ letter is that he singles out malware, viruses, disk defragging, and other common Windows problems as creating cost centers for any Windows deployment. It is true that open source platforms are far less targeted by hackers than the Windows platform, and thus there is far less of a cost center created for the “other software” that Starks mentions.

It ought to be added that Microsoft has an extraordinary amount of leverage over the United States government. █

Share this post: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

Permalink Mail Send this to a friend

If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

Pages that cross-reference this one

What Else is New

Links 9/1/2017: Civilization VI Coming to GNU/Linux, digiKam 5.4.0 Released

Links for the day
Links 9/1/2017: Dell’s Latest XPS 13, GPD Pocket With GNU/Linux

Links for the day
Update on Patent Trolls and Their Enablers: IAM, Fortress, Inventergy, Nokia, MOSAID/Conversant, Microsoft, Intellectual Ventures, Faraday Future, A*STAR, GPNE, AlphaCap Ventures, and TC Heartland

A potpourri of reports about some of the world’s worst patent trolls and their highly damaging enablers/facilitators, including Microsoft which claims that it “loves Linux” whilst attacking it with patents by proxy
Mark Summerfield: “US Supreme Court Decision in Alice Looks to Have Eliminated About 75% of New Business Method Patents.”

Some of the patent microcosm, or those who profit from the bureaucracy associated with patents, responds to claims made by Techrights (that software patents are a dying breed in the US)
Eight Wireless Patents Have Just Been Invalidated Under Section 101 (Alice), But Don't Expect the Patent Microcosm to Cover This News

Firms that are profiting from patents (without actually producing or inventing anything) want us to obsess over and think about the rare and few cases (some very old) where judges deny Alice and honour patents on software
2017: Latest Year That the Unitary Patent (UPC) is Still Stuck in a Limbo

The issues associated with the UPC, especially in light of ongoing negotiations of Britain's exit from the EU, remain too big a barrier to any implementation this year (and probably future years too)
Links 7/1/2017: Linux 4.9.1, Wine 2.0 RC4

Links for the day
India Keeps Rejecting Software Patents in Spite of Pressure From Large Foreign Multinationals

India's resilience in the face of incredible pressure to allow software patents is essential for the success of India's growing software industry and more effort is needed to thwart corporate colonisation through patents in India itself
Links 6/1/2017: Irssi 1.0.0, KaOS 2017.01 Released

Links for the day
Watchtroll a Fake News Site in Lobbying Mode and Attack Mode Against Those Who Don't Agree (Even PTAB and Judges)

A look at some of the latest spin and the latest shaming courtesy of the patent microcosm, which behaves so poorly that one has to wonder if its objective is to alienate everyone
The Productivity Commission Warns Against Patent Maximalism, Which is Where China (SIPO) is Heading Along With EPO

In defiance of common sense and everything that public officials or academics keep saying (European, Australian, American), China's SIPO and Europe's EPO want us to believe that when it comes to patents it's "the more, the merrier"
Technical Failure of the European Patent Office (EPO) a Growing Cause for Concern

The problem associated with Battistelli's strategy of increasing so-called 'production' by granting in haste everything on the shelf is quickly being grasped by patent professionals (outside EPO), not just patent examiners (inside EPO)
Links 5/1/2017: Inkscape 0.92, GNU Sed 4.3

Links for the day
Links 4/1/2017: Cutelyst 1.2.0 and Lumina 1.2 Desktop Released

Links for the day
Financial Giants Will Attempt to Dominate or Control Bitcoin, Blockchain and Other Disruptive Free Software Using Software Patents

Free/Open Source software in the currency and trading world promised to emancipate us from the yoke of banking conglomerates, but a gold rush for software patents threatens to jeopardise any meaningful change or progress
New Article From Heise Explains Erosion of Patent Quality at the European Patent Office (EPO)

To nobody's surprise, the past half a decade saw accelerating demise in quality of European Patents (EPs) and it is the fault of Battistelli's notorious policies
Insensitivity at the EPO’s Management – Part V: Suspension of Salary and Unfair Trials

One of the lesser-publicised cases of EPO witch-hunting, wherein a member of staff is denied a salary "without any notification"
Links 3/1/2017: Microsoft Imposing TPM2 on Linux, ASUS Bringing Out Android Phones

Links for the day
Links 2/1/2017: Neptune 4.5.3 Release, Netrunner Desktop 17.01 Released

Links for the day
Teaser: Corruption Indictments Brought Against Vice-President of the European Patent Office (EPO)

New trouble for Željko Topić in Strasbourg, making it yet another EPO Vice-President who is on shaky grounds and paving the way to managerial collapse/avalanche at the EPO
365 Days Later, German Justice Minister Heiko Maas Remains Silent and Thus Complicit in EPO Abuses on German Soil

The utter lack of participation, involvement or even intervention by German authorities serve to confirm that the government of Germany is very much complicit in the EPO's abuses, by refusing to do anything to stop them
Battistelli's Idea of 'Independent' 'External' 'Social' 'Study' is Something to BUY From Notorious Firm PwC

The sham which is the so-called 'social' 'study' as explained by the Central Staff Committee last year, well before the results came out
Europe Should Listen to SMEs Regarding the UPC, as Battistelli, Team UPC and the Select Committee Lie About It

Another example of UPC promotion from within the EPO (a committee dedicated to UPC promotion), in spite of everything we know about opposition to the UPC from small businesses (not the imaginary ones which Team UPC claims to speak 'on behalf' of)
Video: French State Secretary for Digital Economy Speaks Out Against Benoît Battistelli at Battistelli's PR Event

Uploaded by SUEPO earlier today was the above video, which shows how last year's party (actually 2015) was spoiled for Battistelli by the French State Secretary for Digital Economy, Axelle Lemaire, echoing the French government's concern about union busting etc. at the EPO (only to be rudely censored by Battistelli's 'media partner')
When EPO Vice-President, Who Will Resign Soon, Made a Mockery of the EPO

Leaked letter from Willy Minnoye/management to the people who are supposed to oversee EPO management
No Separation of Powers or Justice at the EPO: Reign of Terror by Battistelli Explained in Letter to the Administrative Council

In violation of international labour laws, Team Battistelli marches on and engages in a union-busting race against the clock, relying on immunity to keep this gravy train rolling before an inevitable crash
FFPE-EPO is a Zombie (if Not Dead) Yellow Union Whose Only de Facto Purpose Has Been Attacking the EPO's Staff Union

A new year's reminder that the EPO has only one legitimate union, the Staff Union of the EPO (SUEPO), whereas FFPE-EPO serves virtually no purpose other than to attack SUEPO, more so after signing a deal with the devil (Battistelli)
EPO Select Committee is Wrong About the Unitary Patent (UPC)

The UPC is neither desirable nor practical, especially now that the EPO lowers patent quality; but does the Select Committee understand that?
Links 1/1/2017: KDE Plasma 5.9 Coming, PelicanHPC 4.1

Links for the day
2016: The Year EPO Staff Went on Strike, Possibly “Biggest Ever Strike in the History of the EPO.”

A look back at a key event inside the EPO, which marked somewhat of a breaking point for Team Battistelli