Army to Gates: Stop trying to bribe DoD personnel with giveaways

[htuttle]

Army to Gates: Halt the free software

March 10, 2004, 4:00 AM PST
By Ina Fried
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

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."

The issue comes up as many governments are looking at open-source alternatives for Office and the Windows operating system. The British government has been evaluating a switch to the Linux OS, while open-source software is also being eyed in Korea, China, India and even at some local agencies in the United States.

(more at link)
http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5171976.html

Related older story for context:

Open-Source Fight Flares At Pentagon
Microsoft Lobbies Hard Against Free Software

By Jonathan Krim
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 23, 2002; Page E01

Microsoft Corp. is aggressively lobbying the Pentagon to squelch its growing use of freely distributed computer software and switch to proprietary systems such as those sold by the software giant, according to officials familiar with the campaign.

In what one military source called a "barrage" of contacts with officials at the Defense Information Systems Agency and the office of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld over the past few months, the company said "open source" software threatens security and its intellectual property.

But the effort may have backfired. A May 10 report prepared for the Defense Department concluded that open source often results in more secure, less expensive applications and that, if anything, its use should be expanded.

"Banning open source would have immediate, broad, and strongly negative impacts on the ability of many sensitive and security-focused DOD groups to protect themselves against cyberattacks," said the report, by Mitre Corp.

(more at link)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A60050-2002May22¬Found=true

[ET Awful]

1. It has NOTHING to do with DOD

Microsoft has been mailing those to pretty much any site that has multiple licenses for Office.

I've gotten two of them myself.

[htuttle]

2. That's not really the issue

It's not a problem if you don't work for the government. Kickbacks of this nature are not illegal at private corporations (it's an internal matter to the corporation) -- but they DO violate government ethics rules, and thus ARE illegal at DoD.

But otherwise, yes: kickbacks are incredibly common in the IT industry. I'm responsible for ordering equipment and supplies at work, among other duties, and I get offers of all sorts of 'personal free gifts' sent directly to my (at home), if I just order from company XYZ, etc... I decline these, myself, since I don't think my colleagues would appreciate it, and it's rarely the best deal anyway. But again -- I don't work for the government. If I did, these free gifts would be against ethics regulations.

[Oilwellian]

3. If only...

the DoD would question the ethics of their own Office Of Special Plans. :eyes:

[ParanoidPat]

4. LOL! I wonder what 'back door' old Billy boy built in.....

.....to keep track of the evil gubmint that's out to get him? :shrug: :evilgrin:

It's good to be the King! :)