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Rivals chip away at Microsoft's dominance | |
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| Time: 11:27 EST/16:27 GMT | News Source: USA Today | Posted By: Robert Stein | ||
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Sterling Ball is Microsoft-free. Two years ago, the maker of Ernie Ball electric guitars and strings was slapped with a $90,000 fine by the Business Software Alliance for what the company says was unwitting use of eight unlicensed copies of Microsoft Office. Microsoft then clipped a news story referring to Ernie Ball's run-in with the BSA, an industry association it co-founded, and attached it to a letter to area businesses warning they could face similar fines. The letter also pitched Microsoft software upgrades as a way to eliminate that risk. Ball paid the fine. Then he wiped Windows and Office off his firm's 80 personal computers and switched to "open-source code" software programs, which do much of what Microsoft's products do at a fraction of the cost. | ||
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| #1 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 2/27/2003 11:41:07 AM |
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"With Microsoft Office, systems manager Rory Hudson did not have the option of separating Word from Excel spreadsheets."
Who are these network managers??? "Know-how" is the phrase they're looking for, not "option." |
| #2 By 7390 (198.246.16.251) at 2/27/2003 12:31:50 PM |
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I thought that the new licensing policy by MS was a big mistake. It created too much negative press and as we know perception is reality. Everyone perceives MS as stiff arming their clients. This only gave further credibility to the "anybody but MS" camp. And I don't know what MS office should cost but everyone agrees that it is perceived as being over priced.
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| #3 By 9589 (68.17.52.2) at 2/27/2003 12:53:38 PM |
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Red Hook have you noticed that according to certain news outlets, Microsoft can not do anything right and everything is honey and milk in Linux land? I guess if you say it often enough, it is so, right?
The licensing that Microsoft offered their enterprise customers saved those customers a bundle over previous versions of their licensing programs. Additionally, one of the main difference of the program was the ability to pay over time instead in a lump sum. While desktop software is a small part of a typical businesses expenses, this program certainly smoothed out cash flow. Although this may not be particularly interesting to "techies" the "green eyeshade" folks in accounting love it. We bought 80k+ seats of Windows XP Professional and Office XP under the new licensing program at significant savings over previous plans and in addition are able to pay for the licenses on a montly basis over the term of the contract. I haven't done much other than contract work at the small business level, but at the enterprise level, Microsoft's Office suite is a vital part of our business. When the open sore fanatics come off the wall with that bilge about being able to do 90% of office task in Sun's product or Open Office they are just full of it. Notice, not one article gives a side by side comparison of the two products. There is a good reason for that. Sun's product and Open Office simple don't measure up, period. |
| #4 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 2/27/2003 2:28:45 PM |
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stubear, besides terminal services, a very uncomplicated (and free) way of pushing out customized Office installs to desktops involves nothing more than a login script utilizing ifmember.exe and customized .mst transforms. This "can't separate Word and Excel" stuff is ridiculous.
I want to see a Linux office package that allows control over the options for a program the way group policies do with MS Office. They never talk about that type of management flexibility in these hype articles, though.... |
| #5 By 415 (199.8.71.121) at 2/27/2003 2:34:07 PM |
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This Earnie Ball story has been a common theme since the new licensing was released...
They violate their license agreement, steal software without paying for it, get caught or simply called out about it, and then cry-foul that the new licensing, and a lack of "freedom" is to blame for their ignorance and abuse. It's such a farce that it's sickening... Most of these people have NEVER even looked at http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/ , nor do they even know what the dfference between a volume and a retail license. But yet these morons think they're some kind of authority?!? Please people, remove your heads from your anus! |
| #6 By 2332 (65.221.182.3) at 2/27/2003 7:59:03 PM |
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Hmm... so software pirates are now poster boys for the open source movement?
Sigh... |
| #7 By 9589 (68.17.52.2) at 2/27/2003 9:52:29 PM |
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bluesky, for some time, Microsoft has offered, as a free download, a tool to maintain software license compliance. The link for that tool is at: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sam/msia/default.asp
At this link, Microsoft reference other tools: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sam/sit/sam_results.asp. At that page, there are a number of products that can be purchased that will assist in licensing compliance as well as other administrative tasks. The guy that got slapped with a fine is just another thief. Boy, I bet he would cry foul and press criminal charges if someone made off with $80,000 of what ever his company makes. |
| #8 By 2332 (65.221.182.3) at 2/27/2003 11:33:28 PM |
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#12 - "Utterly presumptuous."
It was a joke. Relax. I guess I need to be more diligent with my smilies. |
| #9 By 931 (67.35.50.18) at 2/28/2003 2:18:46 AM |
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there's not merit here.. but I do want to say that 90k seems a little steep for 8 violations see as though the other 72 or so were in complince.. What a moron for letting the SBA actually conduct and audit..as they have no satatory authority to do such....but what ever...
It is of interest that the management features are left out of these "comparisions" |
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