You might call this "Kill Bill II" -- in what has to be one of the shortest articles ever to grace the Globetechnology, and on a page where half the available ad-space has been purchased by Microsoft (how do you continue to do your business with such nasty people?), an anonymous Markham reporter files the lip-service story on how the Ontario Schools are fed up, and they just aren't going to take it anymore. Funding for schools, afterall, is supposed to go to educating the children, and as we all know, today there is a choice:

The Star Office productivity suite is being described as part of a movement to deliver superior technology to students while keeping spending in check.

According to the Globe, there's not much more to tell ... except that it is the largest- StarOffice 7 delivery in North America, with more than 2.5 million students having access to the alternative office suite, but that's hardly newsworthy.

IT Business Canada is also on top of this story, describing the transition of 2.5 million desktops as "Giving it a shot" ... that's some shot! To be fair, it's not a forced roll-out, ITBC tells us the Sun Microsystems perspective is more one of a foot in the door, of making their tools available and making the teachers and staff of the 72 Ontario schools aware of their options.

It's too early to tell how extensively the software will be used by schools, said Nicolson, but OSAPAC members were optimistic about its future. "There are some (schools) who will use it right away and there are some who will take some time to explore . . . how it might meet their needs," she said.

ITBC also adds that this follows the similar deal between Sun and the Nova Scotial school board signed just a few weeks ago.

For those who may not know, StarOffice is the Sun Microsystems' supported edition of the free OpenOffice.org Productivity Suite which you can, of course, download here.