********* Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 10:49:30 -0400 From: "\"Robin \\\"Roblimo\\\" Miller\"" <robinat_private> To: declanat_private Subject: Re: FC: Microsoft allies reply to dead-people-writing-letters story Re: Citizens Against Government Waste and Citizens for a Sound Economy's reactions to their pro-Microsoft letter-writing campaigns... Dear Declan: Assuming Citizens Against Government Waste [CAGW] and Citizens for a Sound Economy [CSE] are not corporate shills, but honest grassroots groups true to their names, I'm sure they're at least as interested in lobbying for more efficient use of their members' tax dollars in government computer hardware and software purchasing as in the comparatively minor amounts state attorneys general and the US DoJ have spent persecuting Microsoft. Our federal, state and local governments collectively waste hundreds of billions of dollars worth of taxpayers' money every year on overpriced, insecure, and hardware-inefficient proprietary software and computer operating systems while free or low-cost open source alternatives are readily available. It is possible that CAGW and CSE aren't aware of these alternatives or how they can be put to practical use in government offices. I'm sure that once they and their organizations' members are aware of just how much tax money can be saved by choosing the most cost-effective software available instead of blindly buying from the companies with the biggest marketing budgets, they will start deluging elected and appointed government officials with mail and phone calls begging them to change the way they buy computer hardware and software. I hereby give Mr. Schatz and Mr. Beckner permission to reprint the following article, unaltered, on their organizations' Web sites or in any newsletters or magazines their groups publish. The City of Largo, Florida (motto: "City of Progess"), the subject of this story, is probably spending less money per employee on computer systems than almost any other government in North America. Others should follow their lead, and I look forward to working with CAGW and CSE to help make this happen. Article URL: http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=01/08/10/1441239 - Robin "Roblimo" Miller Editor in Chief, OSDN http://www.osdn.com ********** Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2001 22:37:33 -0700 To: declanat_private From: "A.Lizard" <alizardat_private> Subject: Re: FC: Microsoft allies reply to dead-people-writing-letters story In-Reply-To: <5.0.2.1.0.20010825235231.021527d0at_private> Would there be any "grassroots activism" if MS and allied companies weren't pumping money into the process? If I were a MS stockholder, I'd be more than a little concerned that the company's PR dollars are going to "independent organizations" that either can't tell the difference between grassroots and astroturf or think that the average politech reader can't. A.Lizard ********** From: "RV Head" <4whpat_private> To: <declanat_private> Subject: Re: Microsoft allies reply to dead-people-writing-letters story Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 00:16:33 -0400 Yeah, there's a groundswell of public suport for Mickey$oft, just like there was massive support for Mayor-for-life Daley in Chicago, and just like there's no monopoly in the OS market, and just like that monopoly has not been leveraged to create another monopoly in the browser market. Microsoft is a serial criminal, and it's obvious that they've no intention of changing their Evil Ways; indeed perhaps even a Structural Remedy which requires Bill to take the OS and Paul to take Apps or vice versa will not stop them from their illegal activity. It is no longer a question of /whether/ they broke the law - Judge Jackson heard MONTHS of testimony and he found the evidence to be OVERWHELMING that MS has abused its OS monopoly to extend into other areas. Oh, well. ********** So they activate >1 mil members and supporters, and 400 letters ensue? Seems the public has whispered its protest! PS - if the two organizations are not connected, I assume the texts of letters originating from them were very different... correct? You may quote any part of the above if you insist - but please do not attribute. A fellow journalist ********** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sun Aug 26 2001 - 08:54:14 PDT