[chapter-delegates] good news from Bulgaria about Microsoft - Minister says the contract with the government will not be renewed!

[Veni Markovski]

See enclosed translation from a Bulgarian newspaper from yesterday and my 
comments below. I am sending it, because this is a result of many efforts 
that many organizations, including ISOC-Bulgaria, put into investigating 
the bad business practices of Microsoft in my country.



Translation from "Trud" daily, Jan. 24th, 2005. Page 5:


The Minister of State Administration, Mr. Dimitar Kalchev announced 
yesterday to "Trud" daily, that the Bulgarian government is not going to 
renew the contract with "Microsoft", which expires mid 2005. "We are going 
to leave this decision to the next cabinet" explained Kalchev.

30 000 "Windows XP" suits in Bulgarian have been purchased by the 
Government for the amount of $ 13 million*. The license for those suits is 
expiring should be renewed. Meanwhile, other 10 000 software suits were 
purchased last year, but they can be used until 2007.

"Between 92 and 95 percent of the computers worldwide use "Microsoft" 
products. Just 3 percent use "Linux" " - Kalchev also said.

_________
* in the original it was leva 13 M, which is not the real case. - note by veni

Note from Veni: I had a phone call with the same Minister on Jan. 21st, and 
he mentioned exactly this: "I feel relaxed this problem is not anymore on 
my desk, but will be decided by the next cabinet" (elections are due in 
Bulgaria in June, 2005). At first I thought I got it wrong. Now , after 
this publication in the most popular Bulgarian daily, I am sure it's a hot 
news! The contract between Microsoft and the government is now being 
investigated by the Bulgarian chief prosecutor. Microsoft business 
practices are also subject to a case at the Bulgarian Fair-Trade 
Commission, and at the Consumer Protection Commission. Several 
Parliamentary inquiries are being initiated by members of the Parliament 
from the opposition. A proposed draft law for using free and open source 
software was rejected by the ruling majority in the Parliament last year.


More about Microsoft could be read at http://www.foss.bg/blog 


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