[FYI] CIOs join fight to kill UCITA

[Kristian Köhntopp <kris@koehntopp.de>]

http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/CWFlash/000303F33E

...

But Randy Roth, director of corporate purchasing at
Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa, said his
ability to negotiate with large vendors is already
limited. 

"Microsoft basically owns our desktops. We have no
clout with Microsoft," said Roth. With other vendors,
once their software becomes part of a mission-critical
system, the vendor knows it. "I don't have a choice of
saying, 'No, I don't want your product anymore.' I'm in
tight with them. I have to have it," said Roth. 

Roth said he is skeptical that Virginia's study committee
can fix UCITA. "Anybody that really sits down and reads
it understands how convoluted, how filled with holes,
how hard to understand and how nasty it is to a
standard business," said Roth. For example, he said
lawmakers should erase the self-help provision. 
...

-- 
"At the end of the day, a culture is ruled not just by its laws but by
its 
 social norms. The social norms of the Internet and of the Open Source 
 community, which have proven so productive in the development of the
Web, 
 need to be recognized, honored, and upheld." -- Tim O'Reilly