News Army to Gates: Halt the free software

From cnet:

Microsoft has been mailing free copies of its pricey Office productivity software to government employees, but CNET News.com has learned that at least two federal agencies are warning recipients to return the gifts or risk violating federal ethics policies.

Since the launch of Office 2003 last year, Microsoft has given out tens of thousands of free copies of its flagship software, which retails for about $500, to workers at its biggest customers. The giveaway was expanded to government workers this year, but ethics offices at the Department of the Interior and Department of Defense have said the offers constitute unauthorized gifts and must be returned.

The Department of the Army went a step further, calling on Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to stop sending the software to Army personnel.

"We ask that you cease immediately the mailing of free software, and other types of gifts, to the Department of the Army personnel," Deputy General Counsel Matt Reres said in a Feb. 19 letter seen by CNET News.com. "Your offer of free software places our employees and soldiers in jeopardy of unknowingly committing a violation of the ethics rules and regulations to which they have taken an oath to uphold."

Rest of story here...


Bahahahahaha!!!! Microsoft is starting to piss of the friggin military now!

 

mentioning microsoft and bill gates reminds me of that movie "anti-trust".

 

LOL! Think microsoft r trying too hard now. Bribing everyone they can to get custom

 

Next thing they will ask for is to put Windows into the guidance systems in the TomaHawk & Cruise missiles

Put your own caption here:

 

I'm all for nuking microsoft

Dude, i wouldnt want to be around that missle if it had a GPF

 

Okay, I'll add the punch line...

Would bring a whole new meaning to the Blue Screen of Death!



/grabs coat

 

"******* windows 98, get Bill Gates in here"

 

"you told us windows 98 would be faster with better acces to the internet"

"but it is faster more then" (bang) (bang)

 

Gee, I wonder if this a coincidence???
Maybe he'll piss them off enough that we'll go to war with Microshaft.

 

The brilliance in this bribery is that he can give 10000's of people 500 dollar software, but it only costs him something like ~20 cents per cd plus the costs of packaging and delivery. It's very cheap bribery.