Linux Online - MS moves to counter open source growth in UK gov

MS moves to counter open source growth in UK gov


Publication:	The Register	Date:	Oct 30 2003
Reporter:	John Lettice

Faced with the possibility of open source making a damaging breakthrough in UK local government, Microsoft has reacted in the usual way, with strong money. But this time around that money could be being shrewdly spent and - so far so good - there's currently no sign of Steve Ballmer.

One of the organisations involved in the UK government's open source trials is Newham Borough Council, which was already evaluating open source software when the trials were announced, and earlier this year there was a considerable amount of publicity about the possibility of Newham switching its desktops to open source. Microsoft certainly wouldn't welcome any local government losses to open source, but the possibility of losing the desktop is particularly worrying for the company, because that's where it makes an awful lot of money.