And this isn't considering de-duplication which reduces the amount of this "dark data" by a lot. That means that a lot of these memes and reply-all emails take up a lot less space than just multiplying the size of the data times the number of mailboxes they go into. Then again, how much corporate data is there that companies refuse to delete, and want to keep forever, even if it is of no use anymore?

I bike to work, about 30 minutes, which is the same amount of time if I drove. Also, CowboyNeal is my chauffeur. I just had to say that.

I have a variety of rechargeable batteries. Some are not made anymore, some were purchased for specific uses, eg: digital camera use. Oddly, many of them have become segmented based upon their best performance/usage is.

Cowboy Neal reads books to me from his personal collection.

Because you shouldn't ignore the classics.

Wow, I am astonished at such a Troll-Baiting headline on Slashdot. This executive order did not grant diplomatic immunity to INTERPOL. What it did do was:

• Allow their records to be protected from search and seizure, unless specifically allowed by the President. Section 2(c)
• They don't have to pay customs duties or import taxes on their belongings. Section 3
• They don't have to pay income taxes, for either their employees, or their investments. Section 4
• They don't have to pay Social Security taxes. Section 5
• They don't have to pay property taxes. Section 6

As for FOIA, they were never bound by the FOIA, since they are not a part of the US Government. If you tried to sue them and use discovery to gain access to their records, that was not possible since they were already covered by Section 2(b), which protects them from judicial processes.

First off, the campus is most likely using a Campus Agreement, which gives them the software at a lower price, and has 3 built-in gotchas.

1. They pay for the software based on Full Time Employees, and often that is seen as the same thing as EVERY MACHINE. That means they think that every machine they don't install the software on, is wasting them money.
2. The agreement is for all of the applications listed in the Product Use Rights document, and can include a large list of applications. Therefore, they may not be having to pay extra, just base price.
3. The software is not purchased, but can be used for the time of the agreement, which means that campuses HAVE TO RENEW or they loose all of their software rights. If the campus has been purchasing computers without any software (as some will do), then every computer would be useless to them if they allowed the agreement to expire.

This is insidious in that for less than $50 per Full Time Employee (FTE), the campus can install the OS, Office, and a large number of applications ON EVERY MACHINE. However, whenever this runs out, they have no software that they can use, so unless they have completely transitioned to non-MS software during the last year of the agreement, they have to renew.

The other side of the problem is that there are applications that will require them to use Windows and even MS Office. Some of this are back-ground programs you will never know about ,such as document imaging and retrieval in the administrative departments, or systems such as the student use systems like Blackboard. While there may be alternatives for some systems, there may not be some for other, critical, applications. Also, switching can not be done incrementally, but has to be done all at once. This causes concerns with data migration, upkeep, and end-user training.

However, all hope is not lost. First, since lab computers don't have to pay for licenses, it can be argued that they are freebies, and not using them is not wasting money. You can then start trying out alternatives there. This can also be done in smaller departments which will not see as much money lost by not using licenses off the Campus Agreement.

Also, Campus Agreements can be negotiated by department. Therefore, you can see if some departments can be exempted completely from having to participate. You can then show them how much they would save by going with the FOSS options, as compared to being forced into the MS CA.

Finally, look for departments with lots of Macs. While they are often hooked on MS Office for the Mac, they are usually more open to alternatives. Showing them NeoOffice or OO.org on OS X can be a first step for them.

As in all things, here is what you need to remember:

1. All universities have money issues, saving them money is always good. However, they see spending money for something (like a Campus Agreement) and then not using it (even on a few computers) as wasting money. Try to ween them off of smaller items first.
2. Educational value is important. Show them how using this software can, and will, actually improve the education that students receive. This is usually good with Faculty Senate or other faculty based legislative bodies.
3. The administrative departments are usually walled fortresses of information. Some are based on necessity, such as the Registrar's Office protecting student data, others are based on fear of loosing budget money. Don't expect to walk up to such a department and expect them to roll out the red carpet for you.

Remember, you want to help them, you want to help students, and they want to help students. Therefore (paraphrasing Jerry Maguire) you are trying to help them help students.

Good luck to you.