Texas lawmaker seeks to formally ban Windows Vista

I've checked on this one and I'm 95 percent sure it's not an April Fool's gag, but here it is: A Texas legislator has added a provision to the state budget which would essentially ban Windows Vista from being purchased by any government agency in the state.

I've never heard of a technology-oriented bill with such a pointed focus, but in the bizarre world of Texas politics -- where new laws frequently have to be appended to the state Constitution, which has now been amended nearly 800 times -- anything goes.

The new rule is a rider to the two year, $182 billion state budget that's currently making the rounds in Austin, and it would specifically require written approval from the Legislative Budget Board from any agency (not including institutions of higher education) that wants to by a copy of Vista in any format (either as software or preinstalled on a PC). The McAllen-based senator and vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Juan Hinojosa, who added the provision to the budget, is clearly not a fan of Vista, saying, "Don't buy it, because it's not worth it."

One has to wonder what Hinojosa's personal experience with Vista must have been like in order to generate a statewide ban like this, but regardless, Microsoft is clearly not happy about it, pointing to the company's investment in Texas (where 1,500 Microsoft employees work) and expressing "surprise that the Texas Senate Finance Committee adopted a rider which, in effect, singles out a specific corporation and product for unequal treatment."

I guess the old saying is true: Don't mess with Texas. And, I guess: Don't mess with a Texas lawmaker's PC, either.