[Office-commits] r9651 - trunk/campaigns/windows7sins

[sysadmin]

Author: mattl
Date: Wed Sep 23 10:35:31 2009
New Revision: 9651

Log:
first draft

Added:
   trunk/campaigns/windows7sins/letter-ngo.mdwn

Added: trunk/campaigns/windows7sins/letter-ngo.mdwn
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--- /dev/null   00:00:00 1970   (empty, because file is newly added)
+++ trunk/campaigns/windows7sins/letter-ngo.mdwn        Wed Sep 23 10:35:31 
2009        (r9651)
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+Dear ___
+
+## Re: Important notice regarding impending lack of privacy, freedom and 
security from Microsoft Corporation.
+
+As a decision maker within your organization, you undoubtedly strive to
+make choices that seek to improve the working lives of your employees,
+enhance the relationship you have with your customers and potential
+customers and secure the independence and freedom for your organization
+to operate.
+
+For many years, companies like yours have relied on Microsoft and the
+Windows operating system. With the release of Windows 7 in October,
+Microsoft is selling the new version on a combination of fear and
+threats. They threaten to stop supporting older versions of Windows in
+the long-term, and because their system is proprietary (not free/libre), you 
are
+dependent on them to provide regular security updates and fixes. With
+the threat to withdraw their support, they try to strong-arm you into
+adopting new versions of their software even when you don't need them
+and may have a negative consequence to your ability to operate, once
+again abusing its monopoly position, explicitly inducing vendor lock-in.
+
+Like its plans to include DRM restrictions with Windows Vista,
+Microsoft's continued attacks against the security, privacy and freedom
+of your organization, are no mistake. Microsoft has a history of
+manipulating computer manufacturers into installing its products onto
+the computers you purchase.
+
+With its most recent actions, it further threatens computing standards
+by polluting and perverting the OpenDocument standard with its own
+XML-based file format.
+
+Because of Microsoft, many decision makers in America are now wholly
+dependent on the Windows operating system for their business computing.
+
+**The root cause of this dependency is proprietary software (not free/libre) 
and with the
+release of Windows7, you have an opportunity to break your organization's
+dependency on it.**
+
+Free software is about freedom not price. Free software is software that you 
can use and adapt independent of any one vendor, such as the GNU/Linux 
operating system or the business
+productivity suite OpenOffice.  Free software provides all of the freedoms 
Microsoft
+tries to deny, and is therefore better in all areas: security,
+accountability and monetary cost. GNU/Linux and OpenOffice are available
+from numerous vendors ensuring competition for your patronage and your freedom
+to change supplier.
+
+Microsoft's recent 10-K reports (June 30th, 2009) speak of free software and 
tell a similar story:
+
+>"The OpenOffice.org project provides a freely downloadable
+>cross-platform application that also has been adapted by various
+>commercial software vendors to sell under their brands, including
+>IBM, Novell, Red Hat, and Sun Microsystems."
+
+>"Despite these efforts, actual or perceived security vulnerabilities
+>in our products could lead some customers to seek to return
+>products, to reduce or delay future purchases, or to use competing
+>products."
+
+Free software is more secure because you and the wider community are
+independently able to read the source code of and customize any program
+you use in your infrastructure. It saves you from relying on a secretive
+third party, and the public availability of free software code means
+that many qualified eyeballs, the security experts and researchers
+around the world, are continually studying and reporting on its
+integrity. 
+
+Replacing all your desktop systems with GNU/Linux will give
+you independence from Microsoft, access to thousands of free software 
applications, and
+help break the social ill of proprietary software. Thousands of
+organizations have already moved to free software. What's your
+organizational plan?
+
+**Investing in Microsoft's Windows 7 will only get you more stuck and
+more dependent on them.**
+
+Take the next step -- evaluate your organization's opportunity to use
+free software -- and sign up for regular announcements on making the
+move away from Windows and to receive information about the work of the
+Free Software Foundation: <http://windows7sins.org/signup>.