SEUL: Re: Microsoft and WPI

[Roger Dingledine <arma@mit.edu>]

I heard a really nasty rumor recently, and was wondering if you could
confirm it. I'm the leader of the Simple End-User Linux (SEUL) project
at www.seul.org, and I suspect that a lot of Linux and Open Source news
agencies and organizations that I work with would be very willing to put
in a little blurb about this... we could turn it into a pretty big deal
if it's as straightforward as this mail implies.

I look forward to your response (preferably with WPI academic webpages
confirming this),
--Roger

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approved: T8iaox

Some of you may be interested in the implications of this news brief.
There is a web site below that will confirm all but the $50 fee for
microsoft products.  I suggest, if you resent the power of a
corporation like microsoft seeping into your life, you do something like
email the people in charge.  I think the Philosopher's Circle should try
to be active in expressing its members' views.  Send a copy of anything
you email to the administration to filosofy@wpi.edu if you don't mind.

Newsgroups: wpi.flame
Subject: Microsoft fee!

From Fall 1999, every full-time graduate and undergraduate student at
WPI will be required to pay an annual fee of $50 for the use of Microsoft
products. This is not optional and does not depend on whether the student
wishes to use Microsoft Software or owns a computer. According to the Vice
President of IT at WPI, Tom Lynch, Microsoft assumes the position that
illegal copies of Microsoft Office products are regularly used by students
and has therefore convinced the administration that WPI should retrieve
part of Microsoft's lost revenue by collecting this fee from students.
This has been a rumour for a while and was confirmed at today's GSO
meeting.

In return for the $50 fee, each full-time WPI students who wishes to do so
can obtain one license of a Microsoft software package containing
Microsoft Office 97 (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook) and MS Visual
Studio (Visual C++, Visual Basic, Visual J++, Visual FoxPro, Visual
InterDev) as well as MS Frontpage and an upgrade option for the operating
system for use at their home computers
(http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/CCC/Software/microsoft.html, this web page
does not mention the fee).  During their stay at WPI, students will
receive upgrades of this software, and the license remains legal after
graduation, but will not be updated or supported anymore.

If you have any questions on this policy please refer to WPI
administration, especially the Vice President of Information Technology,
Tom Lynch (tlynch@wpi.edu) or helpdesk@wpi.edu.

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