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Microsoft could get the boot from the French government if a new recommendation from an official advisor is adopted.
DISIC (Direction interministérielle des systèmes d'information et de communication de l'État) has recommended that French authorities ditch Microsoft Office tools in favour of the Open Document Format (ODF). DISIC is responsible for harmonising and reducing the costs of all state computers, including government ministries, state and regional departments and local authorities, and sees ODF as the best way to make them all interoperable.
According to sources, an initial draft of the report envisaged outlawing Microsoft's Open XML altogether, although with some agencies using tools specifically developed for use with Open XML, DISIC relented.
However, the final version strongly encourages the phasing out of Microsoft's ware in favour of ODF.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Justin Case on Saturday July 25 2015, @01:44PM
You've simply pushed the question back one layer. Why do schools buy MS Office when there is a free, compatible alternative? The joy of spending Other People's Money? And teachers whine that they're perpetually underpaid...
> MS has been pushing Office in schools
Well sure. Every money hungry company has been pushing its products since forever. So what? That doesn't mean anyone has to buy them.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by deimios on Saturday July 25 2015, @01:54PM
Schools aren't independent when it comes to software acquisitions relating to the curriculum. They buy (or get directly from the government) what they have to teach. And what they teach is determined by a select few who are ... um ... incentivized to include only MS / Adobe / Autodesk products.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Saturday July 25 2015, @02:03PM
In my opinion, it should not be legal for a government to use a proprietary format where an open one exists. It forces people to buy from a specific supplier and ties them to that for future purposes as well.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Justin Case on Saturday July 25 2015, @02:28PM
I'd go one step further and say the taxpayers shouldn't be forced to subsidize or prop up one corporation over another.
There are laws that require tax funded entities to solicit bids and buy from the lowest priced supplier. But everybody knows the loophole around that one: simply write a "sole source" declaration: we have to buy from $ExpensiveCorp because they have a monopoly.
Wrong! If you've just documented a monopoly, government shouldn't be allowed to buy that. Government could only buy when there is competitive bidding. It would put a stop to a lot of crony capitalism. Which is why it will never happen, I guess.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2015, @08:25AM
shh... don't say stuff like that or gewg_'s head might explode
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 25 2015, @02:03PM
Our public school system now has students save their work in ODF on Google Docs. They used to use Doc but had too many problems with files not opening when created on home computers but opened on school computers. Openoffice/Libreoffice to the rescue!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 25 2015, @02:58PM
Our public school system now has students save their work in ODF on Google Docs.
Very convenient for Google, a company which clearly respects people's privacy.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 25 2015, @03:33PM
You could put that question another way: why are most word processors clones of (an old version of) the Word GUI?
Simple: because everyone in the Real (aka business) World uses Word.
Schools are a training ground for business. Therefore they too use Word.
Why did business go with Word instead of AmiPro or WordPerfect? Some professions didn't -- architects and lawyers loved WordPerfect. On the whole, though, MS came up with a better product that did what you wanted, was snappy, and worked decently with other programs. I know that this is heresy, but Word was the easiest solution for most businesses. Its adoption in government and schools followed later, because government emulates business and schools provide training for business.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 25 2015, @03:45PM
Schools are a training ground for business. Therefore they too use Word.
Nonsense. Schools are supposed to educate people (as in real education, not just turning people into corporate drones), not force them to use proprietary software and proprietary formats that do not allow education. It is awful that it's even allowed for schools or governments to use proprietary software; the only possible reason I can see for bringing in proprietary software is if you want to educate people on how to reverse engineer it (which should be 100% legal).
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday July 25 2015, @07:50PM
A school that considers itself a training ground for business is a school you should avoid like the plague.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.