[School-GNU-Linux] Windows Vista, Office 2007 Expelled From British Schools

A British educational report suggests the upgrade would increase costs
and create software compatibility problems while providing little
benefit.

By Paul McDougall
InformationWeek
January 11, 2008 02:03 PM

The agency that governs educational technology in the United Kingdom
has advised schools in the country to keep Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s
Windows Vista operating system and its Office 2007 software out of the
classroom and administrative offices.

"Upgrading existing ICT systems to Microsoft Vista or Office 2007 is
not recommended," said the British Educational Communications and
Technology Agency, also known as Becta, in a report issued this week.

Becta officials said a study the group commissioned found that
upgrading school systems from Windows XP to Vista and Office 2007
would increase costs and create software compatibility problems while
providing little benefit.

"Our advice is to be sure there is a strong business case for
upgrading to these products as the costs are significant and the
benefits remain unclear," said Stephen Lucy, Becta's executive
director of strategic technologies, in a statement.

Becta also singled out for criticism Microsoft's failure to support
the Open Document Format -- which is recognized by the International
Organization for Standardization -- in Office 2007. Instead, the
software uses a new Microsoft format called Office Open XML.

"Microsoft should provide native support for the ODF file format
increasingly used in competitor products and those that are free to
use," Becta said in its report.

The agency said U.K. schools can consider using Vista or Office 2007
software only when they are buying new batches of PCs. Even then,
however, they're advised to take a long looked at alternatives based
on Linux and other open source products, such as the OpenOffice.org
desktop package.

"Schools and colleges should make pupils, teachers and parents aware
of the range of free-to-use products (such as office productivity
suites) that are available, and how to use them," Becta said.

The report's conclusions could end up costing Microsoft millions of
dollars in lost sales in the U.K. public-sector market.

Becta's advisory mirrors similar moves taken by public agencies in the
United States. Last year, the Department of Transportation placed a
ban on the use of Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Internet Explorer 7
because of cost and compatibility concerns.

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