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Microsoft in Peru, Living Room

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the nanoprobes-everywhere dept.

Two pieces of Microsoft news today. tfofurn writes "According to this AP quickie and this Reuters story, both on Yahoo, Microsoft is donating 'about $550,000 in money, software and consulting services to the Peruvian government for educational and "e-government" initiatives' to Peru. The AP story mentions the conflict of this with Edgar Villanueva's proposal to have the government use only open source software. Villanueva (/. interview), you may recall, wrote a famous letter to MS Peru a few months ago." And many people have submitted stories about Windows XP Media Center, coming this winter to a living room near you.

14 of 341 comments (clear)

  1. Cool by unformed · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm gonna write a letter to Microsoft saying they suck; then they'll send me a bunch of free software, which I can then resell on Ebay.

    Yeah! Free Money!

    1. Re:Cool by NotAnotherReboot · · Score: 4, Funny

      actually- you don't own it, microsoft just 'licenses it to you'. selling it would be unamerican and go against everything our ideals stand for.

    2. Re:Cool by dattaway · · Score: 3, Funny

      No, Microsoft will just overthrow your government and have you executed.

  2. Ahh, I see. by sllort · · Score: 4, Funny

    Peru: We've decided to use Free Software.
    Microsoft: Ok, here's some free Software.

  3. XP in the living room? Oh, great. by phillymjs · · Score: 2, Funny

    If you change the channel too many times in an hour, do you have to call Microsoft to have your set-top box re-activated?

    ~Philly

  4. Gee...thats not anti-competitive... by CrazyDuke · · Score: 1, Funny
    ...donating to *cough*bribing*cough* the governments of entire countries that consider using something other than Microsoft's products doesn't seem to be anti-competative. No siree.

    Then again this is the company that basically pulled out their member infront of the US judicial system and said, "Suck on dis! Who's yer Daddie!?!"

    P.S. to the trigger happy mods, I am not trying to troll. I am just expressing my frustration with the situation.

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced influence is indistinguishable from control.
    1. Re:Gee...thats not anti-competitive... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      P.S. to the trigger happy mods, I am not trying to troll.

      Do, or do not. There is no try.

  5. Freedom by Subcarrier · · Score: 5, Funny

    Regardless, I said I was switching to Linux and never got a dime.

    And I said unto Linus: "Grant me a boon or never again shall I touch Linux! I will rather take my fortunes with the Prince of Evil!"

    And thus spake Linus: "Thou hast the option to do so, for I have given thee freedom."

    And, overcome by happiness, I sank unto my knees and cried: "Never again shall I doubt thee, for I am indeed free!"

    --
    "I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them." -- George H. W. Bush
  6. No longer banana republics...... by isotope23 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I suggest we go with one of these alternatives

    (A)Micro-Republics
    (B)Blue Screen Republics
    (C)Bill-me Republics
    (D)Restart Republics

    In addition we should probably start to redefine
    politics through the mouse, i.e are you a
    right-click fascist or a left-click anarchist?

    (I would have suggested Mouse-Republic, but that option was taken long ago by the great god Disney....)

    Microsoft "who do we want to own today?"

    --
    Service guarantees Citizenship! Questions Guarantee GITMO.... Amerika Uber Alles!
  7. Yeah but... by malakai · · Score: 3, Funny

    Not all lemonade taste the same.

    I've had some piss-poor lemonade in my times. Maybe that 5 dollar lemonade taste better? Maybe they spent more money on sugar, or use a cold filtering processes.....

    What matters in the end, is what the user experiences. If they are refreshed, and enjoyed their 5 dollar experience, the so what if they are paying more? Thank god we aren't some poor socialist country where I have to sell my lemonade at cost in order to be a good comrade. Thank god I can make money off my countrymen, and attempt to rise above them through my own hard work (and it's hard, whether i invented lemonade or not, it's hard running the company).

    Can't afford the 5 dollar lemonade? Feel left out? Stuck with drinking government issue, or homemade lemonade? Well then, this must be an incentive for you. Incentives are rare, so put it to good use.

    -malakai

    --
    -Malakai
    A Dragon Lives in my Garage
  8. They should just brain wash people. by Steveftoth · · Score: 3, Funny

    With ads on TV like:
    You know, every line of code that you write for an Open Source project is causeing the suffering of hundreds of programmers here in Redmond. (Shows lines and lines of disgusting slovenly poor programmers working 20 hours a day) These hard working americans can hardly afford the payments on their homes and audis. So please, don't use Open Source software, it's communistic, unamerican and causes countless suffering for millions.

    Seriously, a couple of years of brain washing on TV might just work for them.

  9. CEO (Chief Evil Officer) by Tetsujin28 · · Score: 4, Funny


    Bill Gates is desperate to keep Peru on his side, so he can finish his high-tech mountain stronghold lair high in the Andes. He's still jealous of Dr. Evil's hollow volcano.

    --
    - - - -
    The real Tetsujin 28 is a giant robot.
  10. as the church lady says... by jjoyce · · Score: 2, Funny

    "How convenient."

  11. How to beat microsoft at their own game by SuperKendall · · Score: 2, Funny

    1. Create new Linux distro - "PERUnix" for the sake of argument.

    2. Burn CD's.

    3. Charge $1 million per CD.

    4. Donate over $100 million worth of software to Peru, far exceeding MS "generosity". Point them to support groups to provide the equivlient of services offered.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley