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[News] More Coverage of the Latest BECTA Fiasco (Free Software Snub)

BECTA Rubbishes Almost the Entire UK Open Source Industry

,----[ Quote ]
| I've written a number of times about BECTA, charting its constant flip-flops 
| on open source in schools – sometimes damning it, sometimes driving it. Like 
| me, you've probably been increasingly confused about BECTA's real attitude to 
| free software. Well, I think we know now, following the snubbing of all the 
| most experienced UK open source players in the awarding of a major contract 
| to promote open source in schools.     
`----

http://www.computerworlduk.com/toolbox/open-source/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=912&blogid=14

A learning experience

,----[ Quote ]
| The situation looked to have improved in early May when it was revealed that 
| Becta had issued an invitation to tender for a project to set up and run an 
| open source schools project.  
| 
| As Glyn Moody reports, however, despite bids from the great and the good of 
| open source in the UK (supported by the likes of Red Hat and Canonical) the 
| contract was awarded to The AlphaPlus Consultancy, a company described as 
| having “no known experience or track record in FOSS”.   
`----

http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2008/06/13/a-learning-experience/

Becta schools deal stuns British open-istas

,----[ Qyuote ]
| He claimed that the decision to snub bidders that included Red Hat-backed 
| Sirius and Canonical-backed The Learning Machine exposed Becta’s open 
| source “posturings” as a “sham”.  
| 
| Becta, which in recent months has been a vocal critic of Microsoft’s 
| monopolistic stranglehold on software, invited bidders to tender for 
| its “Open Source Schools” project in May.  
| 
| At the time it said: “Becta wishes to ensure that schools are aware of and 
| can access the wide variety of open source software in the marketplace. To 
| achieve this it recognises that they must be supported in its awareness, 
| adoption, deployment, use and ongoing development.”   
`----

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/13/becta_open_source_schools/


Yesterday:

Becta, open source and education: Too little, too late?

,----[ Quote ]
| Slow adoption of open source and free software in UK schools can be
| attributed to the same kind of inertia that afflicts SMEs in the UK. It
| arises from a fear of the unknown, misapprehensions of the capabilities of
| the software, over-reliance on trusted suppliers, and general lack of
| awareness of the alternatives - but the major obstacle has been a lack of
| coordination, direction or understanding from the relevant authorities,
| exacerbated by a series of agreements with Microsoft at government level that
| have effectively tied the education system into Microsoft-only solutions.
`----

http://www.itpro.co.uk/603639/becta-open-source-and-education-too-little-too-late


Related:

UK Government criticised for stifling open source in schools

,----[ Quote ]
| MP Pugh reckons shcools should support independent or open source
| software firms. He says, "In my experience a school is a key part
| of the community and as such has a role to play in the economy of
| that community. By supporting SMEs the local high-technology
| industry will be encouraged which will benefit everyone."
`----

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36464


Becta under fire for procurement framework

,----[ Quote ]
| Nineteen MPs have accused a government agency of restricting the
| procurement of software in schools.
`----

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/29/becta_procurement_criticised/


Becta has a lot to learn

,----[ Quote ]
| Rather than investing time and energy into helping to promote real
| alternatives to Redmond's hold on school IT, Becta is simply using the OFT as
| a negotiating tool. Like many organisations, Becta seems incapable of
| thinking outside a Microsoft-defined box.  
`----

http://resources.zdnet.co.uk/articles/comment/0,1000002985,39290249,00.htm


Another false dawn for open source in UK schools?

,----[ Quote ]
| “Mark Taylor of the Open Source Consortium pressure group said: ‘This is a
| mini-step in the right direction but what Becta is actually doing is keeping
| Microsoft in front of the market to the exclusion of alternatives.’ He
| claimed Becta’s complaint is part of the process of negotiating a new
| contract for  the use of Microsoft technology in schools and will therefore
| only add to the visibility of Microsoft in the market.”      
`----

http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2007/10/22/another-false-dawn-for-open-source-in-uk-schools/


Lawmaker blasts U.K. government on Microsoft policy

,----[ Quote ]
| "A member of Parliament of the United Kingdom has launched a stinging
| attack on the U.K. government's IT strategy, saying that it has given
| Microsoft too much control.
|
| John Pugh, who is a member of Parliament, or MP, for Southport and a
| member of the Public Accounts Committee, was speaking in an
| adjournment debate on Tuesday that he had called. The aim of the
| debate, he said, was to explore the alternatives to using Microsoft
| software, including open source."
|
| [...]
`----

http://www.news.com/Lawmaker-blasts-U.K.-government-on-Microsoft-policy/2100-1012_3-6212721.html
http://tinyurl.com/2ashm2


Becta's schools software scheme reported to EC

,----[ Quote ]
| An advisor to Becta, the education technology quango, has complained
| to the European Commission about its procurement process for firms
| to provide online learning platforms and content to British schools.
`----

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/08/becta_ec_complaint/


Microsoft's academic licensing programmes: Interim report with recommendations
for improving value for money

,----[ Quote ]
| Summary and recommedations:... This interim report sets out the
| initial findings of Becta's review, which concluded that Microsoft's
| licensing arrangements in the education sector are characterised by:
|
|     * Significant potential for institutions to find themselves
|      'locked in' to Microsoft's subscription licensing arrangements
|     * Very significant complexity leading to a lack of
|       understanding at institution level that has resulted in
|       widespread use of inappropriate licensing strategies
|
| Becta found that the range of subscription licensing models available
| to the academic sector was more restrictive than those available
| generally, and that it was very difficult for educational
| institutions to identify crucial information on the costs of
| exiting their Microsoft agreement by converting from a subscription
| payment to a perpetual license (the buy-out cost).
|
| Becta further identified that these buy-ouot costs were
| significant....In respect of avoiding potential lock-in, Becta
| found that ... academic customers have no access to a version of
| a Microsoft subscription agreement that automatically grants a
| right to use the software in perpetuity....
|
| Microsoft's subscription licensing agreements are all or nothing:
| in other words, if a school wants to cover any of its ICT estate
| using a subscription agreement, it must cover all its 'eligible
| PCs'. Microsoft has set the definition of an eligible PC as any
| computer with a specification of a PII processor or higher (the
| Pii was launched in 1997). The eligible PC definition also includes
| Apple Macintosh computers (G3 or higher). This approach results
| in over-licensing, double licensing and other anomolies.
`----

http://publications.becta.org.uk/display.cfm?resID=28197&page=1835


Local Authorities avoid Becta framework as Europe opens investigation

,----[ Quote ]
| Local Authorities are avoiding the use of Becta's framework
| procurement for Learning Platforms, while the European
| Commission has formally registered Alpha Learning's
| complaint that the framework failed to comply with
| European regulations for public procurement.
`----

http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9549


OSC joins criticism of UK education's attitude to open source

,----[ Quote ]
| Open Source Consortium president, Mark Taylor, has been in contact to
| voice its opinion on the controversy surrounding Becta's purchasing
| frameworks and the adoption of open source adoption in UK schools.
|
| In short, it doesn't make happy reading for Becta. "The essence of
| our concern is that they're saying one thing and actually pursuing
| policies that are exclusive," he said. "Becta's own research shows there
| are major benefits [with open source], however the reality of the
| framework is that it excludes both products and services."
`----

http://www.businessreviewonline.com/os/archives/2006/11/osc_joins_criti.html

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