Information Week: Microsoft Hit By U.S. DOT Ban On Windows Vista, Explorer 7, and Office 2007

March 5 2007

Looks like at least one organization is jumping off the rip-and-replace treadmill...

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."
Link: Information Week: Microsoft Hit By U.S. DOT Ban On Windows Vista, Explorer 7, and Office 2007 > (Thanks, Jack)

Ed Brill Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Microsoft  Add/View Comments [13]

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  1. 1  Becca  | 3/5/2007 2:50:05 PM

    Ha, just when things were looking up for Microsoft, and all the bloggers were <a href="{ Link } their praises!</a> (or not), a section the US government bans them.

    Incredible.

    - Becca

  1. 2  David Bell  | 3/5/2007 11:15:37 PM

    From the media 3.0 article referenced in 1:

    <snip>

    "A browser-based, Java-compatible cross platform world would be a very interesting place indeed. In fact, many would argue that we are almost there now. Java-enabled browsers show up in smart phones, computers, and dedicated consumer electronics devices. Will the future be filled with applets running client-side? Would you be willing to buy a computer that didn't have a user-noticeable operating system, just browser-based web-functionality? It would certainly turn the consumer computer business on its collective ear."

    </snip>

    Can anyone say Expeditor ? Not only a Java compatible cross-platform world capable of running client-side applets, but a whole lot more, isolating the user from the underlying OS and managed centrally giving users the applications they need when they need them.

  1. 3  Silvia Garcia http://www.europesip.com | 3/6/2007 3:08:10 AM

    Please, IBM.... I would love to be able to compare hannover and they included productivity tools, to observe if that can make Notes a winner player next year...

    I agree with coments @2, and for sure that people would start to try another alternatives to office (ie, google office, etc), so we need a competitive product asap... Would be fantastic to have access to Notes 8 beta so we can observe what is going on...

    Any news for Notes 8 public beta ?

  1. 4  Paul Robichaux http://www.robichaux.net/blog | 3/6/2007 5:41:25 AM

    All I can say is this: BitLocker. I think we will very quickly see a trend towards vastly expanded use of full-volume encryption tools because of the wide availability ofBitLocker; given the poor record of data security at some of the world's largest companies, I certainly hope so. As use of FVE becomes a recognized best practice, I bet you'll see the pendulum go the other way, with use of Vista mandated in many organizations.

  1. 5  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 3/6/2007 6:19:36 AM

    @3 as I said last week, it will be sometime soon. Not this week, very likely next week.

  1. 6  Charles Robinson http://cubert-codepoet.blogspot.com | 3/6/2007 8:40:44 AM

    @5 - I'm waiting for the wailing and gnashing of teeth once Notes 8 beta is public. It's rather amusing to watch from my detached perspective. :-)

  1. 7  Christopher Byrne http://www.controlscaddy.com/ | 3/6/2007 2:01:49 PM

    This is nothing new for a government agency. The same thing happened when Windows 95, 98, 2000 came out (at least in the agencies I worked for). I had to jump through major hoops to get WIN 95 on my machine and it took 2 months. The same thing happened in the agency I worked for when Notes R5 came out.

    Eventually the "ban" will be lifted and there will be no media coverage.

  1. 8  tonyo  | 3/6/2007 3:01:37 PM

    well.. the government media seems to like it :)

    Government Computer News

    March 5, 2007

    “Office 2007 has All the Right Tools”

    By John Breeden

    { Link }

  1. 9  Timothy Briley  | 3/6/2007 4:03:35 PM

    4) Bitlocker will not be widely available. It is only available on Vista Ultimate.

    { Link }

  1. 10  Patrick  | 3/7/2007 6:00:19 AM

    IS it just me, or is the left frame mashed up and over the postings making it next to impossible to read (or post)? It doesn't happen on any of the other topics, just this one...

  1. 11  Kerr  | 3/7/2007 6:22:30 AM

    @9, BitLocker is also availible on Vista Enterprise.

  1. 12  Charles Robinson http://cubert-codepoet.blogspot.com | 3/7/2007 8:57:48 AM

    Interesting, the page Timothy found doesn't list Vista Enterprise as an option. I found another version comparison page that does, though: { Link }

  1. 13  Dave Madison  | 3/7/2007 2:38:40 PM

    What are the DOT's plans for upgrading to Notes and Domino 8?