This is wrapped up in a technical message (one more message from the IT-guys) which no-one has even the time to read. But its contents are clear (for the few who can read through the lines): the University of Oslo has lost its position as a guarantee of freedom and free will, and is now starting its career as a Microsoft education branch: from now on, everyone is supposed to use Microsoft Oulook (because most of the population already does it!) and everyone is going to learn it because it is more practical. Worse still, the mail servers of the university are going to be managed by proprietary software!
And yes, human beings are stupid, paradise is lost, and who said anyone knows better than the others? So, although there is an organization called Free Software Foundation who has demonstrated that it is possible, at least in the technology world, to do things right and well, and have free software (in the sense of open), and even EU has tried to go for this kind of software policy, people just throw it all away because some company has produced an offer that cannot be refused!
I do not know the USIT committee who decided to go for Outlook, but know that many people at USIT are against it, and that many experts are in favour of other solutions.
I know many people who work for Microsoft and have nothing against Microsoft as a private company, but I strongly oppose mixing the two goals: making money, and educating people.
No matter the little benefit you gain by marrying Microsoft in terms of expenses (?) and even technical issues (?), one loses completely in independence and in moral standards. A (public, state) university should guarantee an independent work environment and should have control about the infrastructure it provides to its users or members. For this, in terms of IT, there is only one way: free software, that everyone can inspect and improve and at least not bind us (in this particular case) to American companies with their own goals.
What shocks me more in all this process, though, it is not that it is attempted. What is astonishing, is that nobody cares, nobody notices, those who notice say "it is too late", or "it is not my business", or "what can I do?", meaning: I have other problems, other urgent administrative issues, exams, etc. Let others react... Or: this is too far from my sphere of expertise, let IT people decide!
Is this a democracy, is UiO, by being the largest university in the country, the place with higher density of thinking people? Or is this a country where the only accepted atitude is "The others know best"?
I challenge anyone to show me that they know best when they sell the university's infrastruture to an American company instead of developing their own software and/or using the money to help develop free software. And I think that this should be a cause for all people from the humanities and the social sciences, not only (or especially) for the IT people. This is absolutely a political question, and therefore should not be "hidden" as technical information.
Please support this movement No outlook for Exchange: we want a free university by signing the protest here and spreading the word and discussing it with other people.
See also the information in Norwegian about losing rights in other IT-fronts: Fjerne ODF som obligatorisk standard i det offentlig