Phoenix.pm: In other news...

[Doug Miles]

I don't know if you all caught this on Slashdot:

An anonymous reader submits: "In this discussion thread members of PLUG 
(Phoenix Linux Users Group) may have come up with a way to pressure 
governmental agencies to switch to software other than that from 
Microsoft. County purchasing policies in Maricopa County, AZ prohibit 
purchasing from companies or persons convicted under state or federal 
antitrust statutes. At least one other county, Coconino, that I have 
checked so far has similar requirements. I think that it's time to make 
the government follow their own rules and stop spending any more money 
with criminals."

More info here:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/06/17/1651231

And more recently:

Please stop sending my money to Redmond, OK? TrumpetPower! writes "All 
that brouhaha over Maricopa County's policy prohibiting companies or 
persons convicted of antitrust violations has had an effect. I just 
received the following note announcing a public forum scheduled for this 
coming Monday.

You recently inquired about the County's use of Microsoft products and 
the manner in which we license their software. We appreciate your 
interest in the County's technology plans. To provide a forum in which 
to discuss our technology direction and address any questions you may 
have, we will have Information Technology staff members available to 
meet with citizens at 8:30 am on Monday July 8th. The meeting location 
will be the County Administration Building at 301 W. Jefferson in Suite 
420. Please RSVP your attendance so we can ensure that adequate 
facilities are available for the meeting.

Thank you for your inquiry,
Paul Allsing
Deputy CIO
Maricopa County
301 W Jefferson, Suite 420
Phoenix, AZ 85003"

More info here:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/07/01/1832218

So, is anyone planning on attending?