Day: October 26, 2007

The Senate does the right thing? AMAZING!

Senate Passes Moratorium on Internet Taxes Until 2014

“After an amendment offered by Sen. John Sununu (R – N.H.) made it feasible to extend a four-year extension on the existing ban on Internet-related taxes to seven years, the US Senate yesterday passed the Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendments Act of 2007, reportedly by another overwhelmingly positive vote. The existing federal moratorium on any state or federal tax on Internet use was set to expire next Thursday, after which time legislators were worried that states could be gearing up to create new broadband usage taxes that could be applied to users’ ISP bills. Revenue from those taxes would have conceivably been earmarked to fund the municipal side of the cost of renovating existing infrastructure for increasing broadband coverage, especially for DSL. But states won’t be able to raise funds through those means until at least November 2014, after the President signs the Amendments Act into law as he is expected to do. From here, the measure goes to conference committee to reconcile minimal language differences between the House and Senate versions, and then proceed to the President’s desk.”

Folks are coming around to common sense! Linux is free, solid, and more powerful than Windows on servers… and Dell sales are reflecting the trend!

Dell CEO: Linux server sales increasing

Claims made by Microsoft that Linux violates its software patent have not affected sales of Linux-based hardware, according to Dell’s CEO Michael Dell. Speaking at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, Dell said his company has seen Linux uptake for servers increase faster than Windows server products, despite Microsoft’s claims. He said: ‘On the server side Linux continues to grow nicely, a bit faster than Windows. We’re seeing a move to Linux in critical applications, and Linux migration has not slowed down.’ However, for those customers who might be concerned about whether Microsoft’s claims of patent violation could result in legal action, Dell added that there were ‘certainly mechanisms if customers are concerned about patents.’ In May, Microsoft claimed free and open source software violated more than 230 of its patents but hasn’t provided more detailed information following the statement. Dell’s chief marketing officer, Mark Jarvis, claimed that though the two vendors have had a close relationship in the past, Microsoft had not given Dell any more information about the issue of patent infringement, despite Dell supporting Linux on its server range and more recently on its desktops and laptops.”

Microsoft is sweating… and if their new Windows Server 2008 doesn’t pick up sales, expect them to ruthlessly attack Linux. But then, look what happened to SCO. Fighting Open Source is a sure way to watch your market share go down the tubes!