Munich Spurns Steve Ballmer's Software Rebates

Slashdot ^ | 26 May

[Dominic Harr]

Kurt Pfeifle writes "Steve Ballmer's recent trip to Munich to offer up to 90% rebates for the Microsoft Software Assurance and Licenses was in vain. The ruling party of Germans biggest city and self-proclaimed 'technology capital' now decided to migrate 14.000 workstations to Linux and an OSS office suite. A study comparing the alternatives had assigned 6218 (out of 10.000) points to Linux/OSS, while the MS Windows platform only scored 5293. Babelfish translation of the latest newsticker story."

[Dominic Harr]

Just another brick in the wall.

[Dominic Harr]

Call me crazy, but any company out there using MS software needs to think about getting a piece of these discounts.

Just threatening to use Linux alone seems to be a potentially profitable business choice.

[ShadowAce]

Well--perhaps. I think your chances of getting anything from MS go up the larger you are. A mom-and-pop shop that employs 10 people probably doesn't have much of a chance at getting these discounts, compared to the city of Munich... :)

[B Knotts]

The (relatively small) company my wife used to work for actually did this in 2001. They threatened to go Linux/Open Office (and seriously considered it), and Microsoft gave them a deal on their license fees.

[Princeliberty]

Give it time MS soon going to be hurting so
bad form Linnix that they be begging people
to stay with them.
If you own MS stock you better sell now
cause its going to the floor!

[Mr. K]

I love Microsoft!
Bill Gates IS God!

[philetus]

I have no problems with MS software.
The other people hacked into my puter let me use it whene ever I want to.

[brownsfan]

Microsoft got it's beginnings from IBM. Now, in a sense, they have become what IBM was. Big, predatory, inflexible. Linux is to Microsoft what Microsoft was to IBM. IBM didn't squash Microsoft because they didn't care about the PC market. Microsoft can't squash Linux because there is no "company" to squash! Microsoft is becoming greedy. Non transferrable support for software, the end of perpetual licensing, the klunky, evil activation schemes. It's costing them. Linux won't kill them, just as Microsoft didn't kill IBM, BUT, Linux will end up rocking Microsoft's world. I'm ok with that!

[Princeliberty]

Linnix is an even deadlier threat to MS
than MS was to IBM. MS is all based
on the homecomputer hardware monopoly
everything flows form there.
Linnx is beginning with taking away
businesses form MS but home going
to follow that.

MS really be greedy form the start,
Gates never did anything better
of creat any great new innovations
he stole them all and was the first
to make his software compatable
and thus got the home personal computer
monopoly and has seen maintained and
extended his position through
contracts of adhesion.

There is nothing that MS does that others
are not doing better and will be doing better.
It impossible to predict far MS will fall
but since they innovation and never have
had innovation there fall could be a bottomless pit.

Further, Gates is a superliberal jerk.
He is Planned Parenthood's single largest donor
today as well as many other liberal groups.