From: "Joe Barr" 

http://computerworld.co.nz/webhome.nsf/NL/6CD972D91CFD33DCCC256D3A0070A004

David Watson, Auckland
Stagecoach-Fullers IT manager Stan Low (pictured) says the transport
operator decided not to go with Microsoft's Software Assurance because of
cost.

Instead, the company will move towards Linux as much as possible in the
next few years, he says.

"We were on the Microsoft Select licensing agreement and decided to
let it lapse. When they first came up with Software Assurance, I opposed it
and Stagecoach accepted a policy of not buying it."

Low has heard of the sweeteners Microsoft has added to Software Assurance,
but declined to comment on their appropriateness since Stagecoach isn't a
Software Assurance customer.

He says Stagecoach has adopted OEM licencing, each year replacing a quarter
of current licences with the OEMs. OEM licences for commercial software are
cheaper but the software cannot generally be transferred to another machine
and attracts zero support.

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