[Technical] Interesting computers-in-education piece.Education&the ACCC

[Clark, Ian C]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: tech-bounces at edulists.com.au 
> Unfortunately, I'm having no luck in accessing the 
> http://www.tenders.vic.gov.au/ site to show you the 
> refenrences to the tenders we're talking about. The site 
> seems to be off air. If you can, can you search for the 
> Microsoft agreements made by the DET and paste their details 
> back to this list?

Hi Con,

Well, I remember clicking on links you sent earlier in the week, and
none of them were for mandatory operating systems in schools.

Over the years, there have been tenders for firms that could supply the
*media* for the Microsoft Licensing Agreement
http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/ict/software/microsoft/agreements.htm.

That agreement lets a school (if it wants to) get a CD of Windows Server
for $7, and all teachers (if they want to) their own copy of Office 2003
for $33, and a company won the tender to physically supply those.

That company is currently Ipex, BTW.

The only mandated Department operating system rollout to teachers and
students was in fact a Linux wireless authentication and proxy server to
all 1600 sites.


> > 
> > There is no central prescribing of operating systems a school 
> > purchases for its students or staff.
> > 
> > So, there are schools with Novell, Macintosh and Linux 
> computers. Some 
> > reimage the leased IBM laptops they receive to better suit them ... 
> > they could put Debian on them if they wanted.
> 
> That doesn't stop a largish slice of money having gone 
> automatically to Microsoft for copies of OEM Windows and OEM 
> Office that aren't being used. 
> Correct?

Both the Department and Microsoft haggled over the price of an
enterprise-wide agreement, guessing how many installations would take
place. For some products, the numbers were fixed, in others, Microsoft
shrugged its shoulders and made them full site licences. Both parties
agree on a price ... that's capitalism ... and it's no different from
how other big organizations do things ...
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020390,39162395,00.htm

If Cybersource wants to sell Linux/Open Source products to the
Department, you're aware more than most of the intrinsic problem that
people can download and install these things themselves! The Linux
servers used hardware from Paragon, but the Department customized its
own Smoothwall distro to put on them.

Nevertheless, if you've got an interesting educational product to sell,
offer a good discount and you could get listed on
http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/ict/software/s4e/index.htm

Cheers,
Clarky


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