[Novalug] draft email to the chairman of an electronic commerce policy committee

[Nino Pereira]

List,

in dealing with the US Government I regularly run into problems with
MicroSoft only websites. In a desperate attempt to get some recognition
of this problem I wrote the following email to a person who has
something to do with these things.

Could I have your comments? Do I say something that's not correct?

Thank you,

Nino





I write to you in your capacity of the Electronic Work Group Chair of the 
Council that is overseeing the Grants.gov web site (and probably many more), to 
let you
know how difficult it is to use these (and other) US Government sites if you do
not use a version of the MicroSoft Windows operating system, and if you do not
use its accompanying browser Internet Explorer.

Many highly technical people like myself vastly prefer to work with other 
operating systems than Windows. Many use linux, including me. However, as a US 
Government/DoD contractor I am almost forced to purchase the Microsoft OS 
because many Government web sites seem to depend on certain non-standard
features of Internet Explorer and Windows for their operation. As a result, 
people using other OSs have great difficulty doing electronic commerce with the 
US Government.

If a bank uses software that does not accept all OSs (that adrere to international
standards) I go to a different bank, if a shop doesn't let me use my preferred 
browser (Opera or Firefox) I don't shop there. But, I have only one Government:
I can not go anywhere else. You are almost forced by the Government to purchase 
the MicroSoft Windows OS, just to participate. This is wrong: the
Government should not favor one Company over another.

Just this year Grants.gov started to accept the OS used by the Apple and/or the 
Mac. But, even though their newest versions are based on linux, Grants.gov does 
not yet seem to be able to work with linux itself. I now find myself forced to 
get another computer, either an apple or one with Windows. This is wrong.

It seems to be a Government-wide problem. Worse than Grants.gov is the Wide Area 
Work Flow site (eb.wafw.mil) through which all invoices are submitted.

I am most interested in your reaction.

Thank you,

Nino R. Pereira