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Quebec broke law in buying Microsoft software

,----[ Quote ]
| Quebec's government broke the law by 
| buying software from Microsoft without 
| considering offers from other vendors, the 
| province's Superior Court has ruled.
| 
| The government's procurement agency acted 
| illegally in spending $720,000, beginning 
| in the fall of 2006, on the migration of 
| 800 workstations to Microsoft software, 
| including Windows Vista and Office 2007, 
| Judge Denis Jacques ruled in Quebec City 
| on Thursday. The government did not 
| perform a "serious and documented search" 
| for alternatives, which it must do with 
| any expenditure over $25,000, he said.
| 
| The decision was in regards to a suit 
| filed in March 2008 by Savoir Faire Linux, 
| a small Montreal-based firm that deals in 
| open-source software.
| 
| Jacques dismissed arguments from the 
| government, which said that Microsoft 
| software was selected because employees 
| were already familiar with it, and that 
| switching to a different platform would 
| have incurred additional costs. The 
| government also argued that the move to 
| Vista was an upgrade, not a purchase, and 
| therefore did not need to be publicly 
| tendered.
`----

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/06/03/quebec-microsoft-lawsuit.html

Linux wins court case against Microsoft

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/business/12877-Linux-wins-court-case-agains-Microsoft.html

You Could Get Fired for Buying M$

http://pogson.6k.ca/2010/06/04/you-could-get-fired-for-buying-m/

Microsoft replies using spin and lies ("Written by Microsoft Canada"):

Microsoft Continues to Fuel Vibrant App Ecosystem in Vancouver 

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/microsoft-continues-to-fuel-vibrant-app-ecosystem-in-vancouver,1326873.shtml

Local Developer Creates Award Winning Application that Leverages Vancouver Open Data 

http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/20650/2/


Recent:

Does Quebec Hate Free Software?

,----[ Quote ]
| What's particularly disturbing here is that
| it looks like the regional government doesn't
| want anyone to question why it is going with
| proprietary software, and not giving free
| software a fair chance - that's doubly wrong.
| (Via @akaSassinak.)
`----

http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2010/03/does-quebec-hate-free-software.html


Related:

Savoir-Fair Linux, Inc. sues Quebec government agency over Microsoft

,----[ Quote ]
| [PJ: It's in French, but the general translation is that you can find at the
| link the documents regarding a lawsuit a company called Savoir-Faire Linux,
| Inc. has filed in the Superior Court of Quebec against the government's
| pension plan for choosing Microsoft software without putting the job out
| publicly for bid. It seems the law in Quebec is very strict that the
| government is supposed to publish an invitation to tender for any acquisition
| of more than $25,000, and this job was a good deal more than that.
|
| I gather Savoir-Faire Linux's position is that only open standards, formats
| and protocols are suitable to match the demands of a public market policy
| upholding four fundamental principles: act in an transparent way, favor
| strong competition, favor local economic development, get the best overall
| cost.]
`----

http://www.groklaw.net/newsitems.php


The Long Road To Free Software in Quebec

,----[ Quote ]
| The report was overwhelming: “ We have no control over our own information
| systems! And yet that is the one and only area in which we can achieve the
| necessary gains in productivity.” That day, I came to understand the many
| needs that are fulfilled by free software and how it is of crucial importance
| to our country’s economy.
`----

http://www.savoirfairelinux.com/english/news/articles/la-longue-route-du-logiciel-libre-au-quebec/


A Free Software Week quandary

,----[ Quote ]
| Events this week, mostly at the Université du Québec à Montréal, will promote
| the benefits of free software and introduce beginners to the open vs.
| proprietary politics that divide the tech-savvy community.
|
| But the hostility between the two camps is nothing like it was in the past,
| said Michael Gould, an analyst with Forrester Research. And on the one hand,
| this is good news for open sourcers.
|
| "A lot of significantly sized companies have been using more open source
| software," Gould said. "A lot of the concerns they had, like quality,
| security and support, have been mostly addressed."
`----

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/business/story.html?id=726d481b-298a-49ec-bcce-c3a8465e6927


Cdn co. nails concept of public computing

,----[ Quote ]
| The software that runs the Discover Station is simple to manage and very
| elegant. Running Linux, it is secure, throughout -- no issues with hackers or
| viruses, and as important, there is almost no chance that a user's personal
| information gets compromised. As soon as you end your session the terminal
| restarts, blowing away all personal names, passwords and cookies, so security
| is a real strength.
|
| Managing the Linux-based system is very easy. The company has a management
| console that lets you maintain all of your systems, regardless if you have a
| small network of four workstations in your hotel lobby, or hundreds of
| workstations in coffee shops across the nation. You can modify the systems,
| change the graphics on screens, and update the systems remotely.
`----

http://www.canada.com/northshorenews/news/home/story.html?id=4dad2598-2285-4e37-9498-2bc102d07e80


Oracle shop ditches Unix for Linux on the mainframe

,----[ Quote ]
| The IT department for the Canadian province of Quebec is
| consolidating hundreds of Oracle databases -- spread across
| hundreds of midrange servers -- onto a new mainframe running
| Linux on top of z/VM.
`----

http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid80_gci1244661,00.html
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