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Namibia Says "No Thanks" To Microsoft Donation With Strings
The Register posted an update about Namibia's SchoolNet, Microsoft "donations", and what looks like Namibia final decision. Apparently, MS's "donated" contributions would have been so small (and would have required such a large investment in OS licenses), that SchoolNet Namibia found it wasn't even worth bothering with. A very interesting article.
Here is the letter itself...
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This is preaching to the choir, and instantly earns the +5, Anti-M$ moderation. The word is Slashturbation. What good is this article on these geek media? Someone get this on mainstream news, puhleeze.
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If you moderate this, then your children will be next.
Is Microsoft really that worried about market share in impoverished Africa, and is it this inept at promoting itself?
You know that cracks me up. I mean Africa has a mean Per-Capita-GNP of about $2000, a AIDS infection rate reaching 30% in some countries, massive amounts of foreign debt, corrupt governments, and the list goes on-and-on. And yet microsoft is paranoid about market share. You think they would realize that it is *really* hard to get a business/non-profit organization/individual to pay 600-1200$ for the latest Microsoft Products when they can get near-equivalents for *free*. As in free. As in don't have to sacrifice the equivalent of 1 years worth of pay to buy some MS products which might be marginally better than the equivalent *Free* products. The only hope they have is giving them free software since, in all likelihood, if the organization really wants said copies of MS software they will just pirate the darn things anyways. And, hey, wouldn't you if you made 1500$ a year? Note: Don't advocate piracy or stealing, just trying to point out how inept MS strategy is.
To: Microsoft
From: Africa
Subject: Quotes
After reviewing your offering of $15,000 to connect and equip 20 computers with software - from our grand total IT budget of about 50$ - we have decided to go with the competitions offer of *FREE*. That way instead of buying your over-priced software we can actually do some good like teaching rudimentry tech skills, feeding the poor kids we teach, and maybe attracting some tech jobs to improve the future of our grandchildren. We would like to assure you that your quote was appreciated and look forward to possibly doing business with you in the future.
Kthnxbye.
You see, they *could* have given the hardware and software. The cost to M$ would have been actually neglectable and they would still have achieved their real goals of locking down a poor country in their web for the future.
The scary part is that if they had done that, then, only us geeks would have been able to see the deception; the mass media would have played along (untwittingly or not) with the marketroids' plan and portrayed M$ as a savior of struggling countries whilst ignoring the dire long-term consequences.
Again, M$ stupitidy manages to cancel out M$ evil, and the world is a bit safer for it.
-- MG
You know what would be a good thing to do, it would be to get the Slashdot community together and help get these people some laptops, without continued community support these guys might fall to Microsoft in the end or just fall period. Open Source is about everyone giving a little, so it would only take everyone who reads this article donating a quarter or a piece of hardware. Anyone with me on this?
This sounds like a good market for the
Solo computer
a neat ARM powered machine that used 8.5 watts all in (including monitor) and can be solar powered.
Instead of 500ish watts for a standard desktop.
No I don't work for ARM I just like their kit.
It looks like the ultimate silent pc - no noise even in the power generation.
Although RISC_OS isn't open source it is pretty solid and isn't part of the Evil Empire.
I can see why the guys in Namibia would be pissed off -- it sounds like they got jerked around.
It doesn't change the fact that the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation does an enormous amount of good in Africa and the rest of the world. Look it up if you don't believe me.
Bill Gates is the biggest philanthropist in the history of the world, and while critics can talk about soft donations of things like software licenses, in reality he does a lot of stuff like vaccinations and grants to develop basic infrastructure in the developing world.
He's done far more than anyone else, certainly more than me or anyone slamming him here.
This is just off the top of my head.
Microsoft has:
Been found guilty (upheld in appeals court) of multiple counts of breaking antitrust law.
Engaged in terror marketing; using fear of audits to sell more licenses to companies than they need.
Produced and sold products so notoriously insecure that the FBI has had to warn the public.
Caused (through a bug in their SQL Server) nuclear materials in Russia and possibly in the US to slip through the cracks. The materials could be safe in a warehouse or in unfriendly hands, the database no longer has a record of them.
Left a trail of broken and dead companies in their wake, not through fair competition, but through dirty (and frequently illegal) tricks.
Caused huge amounts of lost documents and lost productivity to corporate customers, and an endless amount of frustration, stress, and blue screens of death to users.
Audited poor school systems and a children's charity, to grab what little funding those organizations had to feed their endless greed.
Attempted to force Licensing 6 on their customers, then publicly bragged about the resulting "unearned profits".
Refused to share their big wad of cash with their shareholders in the form of dividends. Since the stock is down from its glory days, what do the shareholders get in return for their investment? Nothing.
There is far more. Get your head out of MS Sand(TM) and read the news for a change. Microsoft has broken the law, failed their shareholders, and wronged their customers. That is wrong, even by the standards of business ethics. By the standards of human compassion, well gotr00t was right when they said Microsoft was a jerk. "Greedy Shark" works for me.
"At this moment, it has control of systems all over the world.
And...we can't do a damn thing to stop it."
Miyasaka, "Godzilla 2000 Millennium" (Japanese version)
Hmm, do you think Godzilla will blow Microsoft's candles out for his 48th birthday on Sunday?