Texas government shouldn’t be Vista country, according to its state Senate. That legislative body approved earlier this week a rider to the state budget that would prevent governmental agencies from using the Microsoft Vista operating system without approval from a legislative board.
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Democratic Sen. Juan Hinojosa, who serves as vice chairman of the state Senate’s Finance Committee, proposed the rider. He told the Senate that there were many reports of problems with Vista.
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Not ‘Trying to Pick on Microsoft’
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Speaking in the debate about his rider, Hinojosa said we are not in any way, shape or form trying to pick on Microsoft, but the problems with the particular system are known nationwide. He added that Microsoft’s older but popular operating system still works very well.
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According to his rider, agencies must receive written approval from the Legislative Budget Board before buying any licenses for Vista, or before purchasing any PCs in which Vista is installed.
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In reply, Microsoft has told news media it was surprised that the Texas Senate would agree to a proposal that singles out a specific corporation and product for unequal treatment. The company also noted it has 1,500 employees in Texas and has opened a major data center in the state.
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This kind of public relations could be devastating to Microsoft at it tries to keep selling Vista on the way to its newer Windows 7 operating system, according to Laura DiDio, an analyst with Information Technology Intelligence Corps.
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But, she added, this isn’t quite the giant boulder running after Indiana Jones, threatening to wipe out the protagonist. She noted that the biggest issues with Vista have been compatibility problems with older applications and peripherals, and Microsoft has made an effort to address those.
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Moving Up Windows 7?
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The takeaway for some who hear of this action, she said, could be that…