[Leaplist] US DoT bans Vista, Office 2007, IE7 upgrades

[William Warren]

DOD has also restricted IE7, vista and office 2k7.

Ray Brunkow wrote:
> http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197700789   
>   
> 
> March 2, 2007 12:00 PM
> 
> Citing concerns over cost and compatibility, the top technology official 
> at the federal Department of Transportation has placed a moratorium on 
> all in-house computer upgrades to Microsoft's new Windows Vista 
> operating system, as well as Internet Explorer 7 and Office 2007, 
> according to a memo obtained Friday by /InformationWeek/.
> 
> In a memo to his staff, the DOT's CIO Daniel Mintz says he has placed 
> "an indefinite moratorium" on the upgrades as "there appears to be no 
> compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new 
> Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific 
> reasons not to upgrade."
> 
> Among the concerns cited by Mintz are compatibility with software 
> applications currently in use at the department, the cost of an upgrade, 
> and DOT's move to a new headquarters in Washington later this year. 
> "Microsoft Vista, Office 2007, and Internet Explorer [7] may be acquired 
> for testing purposes only, though only on approval by the DOT chief 
> information officer," Mintz writes.
> 
> The memo is dated Jan. 19. In an interview Friday, DOT chief technology 
> officer Tim Schmidt confirmed that the ban is still in effect. "We're 
> analyzing different client software options and also integration 
> issues," says Schmidt. Among the options the Transportation Department 
> is weighing as a possible alternative or complement to Windows Vista are 
> Novell's Suse Linux and, for a limited group of users, Apple's Macintosh 
> hardware and software, he says.
> 
> Schmidt says the Transportation Department hasn't ruled out upgrading 
> its computers to Windows Vista if all of its concerns about the new 
> operating system -- the business version of which was launched late last 
> year 
> <http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197001449> 
> -- can be resolved. "We have more confidence in Microsoft than we would 
> have 10 years ago," says Schmidt. "But it always makes sense to look at 
> the security implications, the value back to the customer, and those 
> kind of issues."
> 
> The DOT's ban on Vista, Internet Explorer 7, and Office 2007 applies to 
> 15,000 computer users at DOT proper who are currently running the 
> Windows XP Professional operating system. The memo indicates that a 
> similar ban is in effect at the Federal Aviation Administration, which 
> has 45,000 desktop users.
> 
> Compatibility with existing applications appears to be the 
> Transportation Department's major concern. According to a separate memo, 
> a number of key software applications and utilities in use in various 
> branches of the department aren't Vista compatible 
> <http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197008462>. 
> Among them are Aspen 2.8.1, ISS 2.11, ProVu 3.1.1, and Capri 6.5, 
> according to a memo issued by staffers at the DOT's Federal Motor 
> Carrier Safety Administration.
> 
> Any prolonged ban on new Microsoft technologies by the federal 
> government could have a significant impact on the software maker's 
> bottom line, as Microsoft sells millions of dollars in software to the 
> feds annually.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Raymond L. Brunkow
> 5th Degree Black Belt
> Chief Instructor and Owner
> Sun State Martial Arts
> 407-786-2525
> http://www.SunStateMartialArts.com
> 
> 
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