Uncle Sam to Cousin Gates: Stop Sending Free Stuff
The US Army sent a cease and decist letter of sorts to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates to stop sending free copies of it’s Office productivity software to Army personnel. Microsoft claims to offer the products at no charge (or request) to personnel of not only federal institutions but to employees of private sector corporations in order to educate them so that it can be recommended for purchase by the company at large.
The Department of Defense and Department of Interior claim that this is a violation of federal ethics. Federal Ethics? Isn’t that an oxymoron?
All joking aside, this story reeks of missing information. It is mentioned however that the government is looking into open source solutions for everyday productivity. This could be a major loss for Microsoft in the near future.
