[CLUE-Tech] ukonline.gov.uk comments and suggestions

[Cyberclops]

Subject:
       ukonline.gov.uk discussion reply
   Date:
       Mon, 9 Jul 2001 21:30:42 +0100
  From:
       editor at ukonline.gov.uk
    To:
       <Cyberclops at hawaii.rr.com>




ukonline.gov.uk discussion forum: ukonline.gov.uk comments
and suggestions

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http://www.gateway.gov.uk/

Why is it that I cannot access the http://www.gateway.gov.uk
/ website using any of my four Linux Web Browsers?
I have heard the www.gateway.gov.uk/ site was designed by
M$. Since many Europeans and Americans have
chosen to use Linux, an open source computer system,
wouldn't it be better for a "government gateway" to provide
"open access" to "open source?" Why should the UK government
be so interested in having the citizens of the
world pay computer use taxes to American monopolist, Bill
Gates? It's colonialism in reverse.
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The following reply was posted by nige1h at 09/07/01 21:26
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Re: http://www.gateway.gov.uk/

More to the point, why is the UK Government even doing
business with a US company that has already been
found guilty of criminal abuse of its monopolistic position
in the market?

The US Appeals Court may well have overturned the lower
court's remedy, but they didn't find very much wrong
in the Findings of Fact, which established Microsoft's guilt
(that most of us in the industry always knew about
anyway). It remains for the lower court to come up with a
new remedy (read punishment) for Microsoft's
established guilt.

So, I repeat, is it right for the UK Government to be doing
business with a US company that is proven guilty of
such crimes? I don't believe it is. Also, it's notable that
several US Government Agencies themselves have
already ousted Microsoft software from their computer
systems during the very same period that the UK
Government appears to have fallen over itself in awarding
such a lucrative contract to the same company!

As our US cousins would say - GO FIGGER! I'd almost be
inclined to suggest that this particular Government
procurement deserves a full public enquiry to establish the
truth as to HOW this contract was ever awarded to
such a company.


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