Vietnam Going Open Source

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Posted by michael on Thursday October 30, 2003 @05:12AM from the seeing-the-light dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Great article today on SiliconValley.com about Vietnam's solution to software piracy: eliminate Microsoft. Government tech officials are promoting a plan that would require all state-owned companies and government ministries to use open source by 2005. And they would require all computers assembled in Vietnam to be sold with open-source products installed on them."

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OB Vietnam quote by Hieronymus+Howard · 2003-10-30 05:13 · Score: 4, Funny

I love the smell of Linux in the morning. Smells... like victory.

Lieutenant Torvalds in Apocalypse .Net
1. Re:OB Vietnam quote by wfmcwalter · 2003-10-30 05:17 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Novel. I was expecting a "charlie don't websurf", but it's all good.
  
  --
  ## W.Finlay McWalter ## http://www.mcwalter.org ##
2. Re:OB Vietnam quote by The+Old+Burke · 2003-10-30 05:19 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Horror, the horror.
  Colonel Gates in Apocalypse .Net
  
  --
  Proud patriot and republican voter.
I love the smell of GNUpalm in the morning. . . by Limburgher · 2003-10-30 05:14 · Score: 4, Funny

We had to destroy IIS in order to save us^H^Hit.

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You are not the customer.
SCO warning by henrygb · 2003-10-30 05:14 · Score: 3, Funny

Before you start asking Vietnam for Linux licesnces, remember they are Communists.
1. Re:SCO warning by Krapangor · 2003-10-30 05:26 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  They should rather remember that Communist Vietnam tends to win wars.
  
  --
  Owner of a Mensa membership card.
From the article by LNO · 2003-10-30 05:16 · Score: 5, Funny

Cuong, Microsoft's Vietnam representative, acknowledges that open source poses a threat to commercial software companies. ``They give away innovation,'' he said.

Giving away innovation smacks of Communism. We need to invade Vietnam before this "giving away" idea spreads throughout Southeast Asia.

Soon Cambodia may start giving away innovation, and then Japan and Australia will be isolated and they'll fall as well.

My god .. it's like dominos.

Where are Robert McNamara and Henry Kissinger when you need them?
Piracy Shift? by mopslik · 2003-10-30 05:18 · Score: 5, Funny

Nation's solution to software piracy: "Eliminate Microsoft"

Surely this will only shift the piracy to open-source applications. Why, by 2005, I'll bet there will be hundreds -- nay, thousands! -- of copies of Redhat and Mandrake circulating around Vietnam for free! And thousands of applications too! The horror!
in other news... by headGasket · 2003-10-30 05:20 · Score: 5, Funny

president Tran Duc Luong announced the renaming of all citizen named Nguyen to NGNUYEN. .. ...

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6E8C 8721 B3D9 5269 5A9B 1122 00C3 C03D 99A7 1CFC
Re:More information on Vietnam open source efforts by Anonymous Coward · 2003-10-30 05:21 · Score: 2, Funny

Yet another commie or socialist country adopting OSS. Hooray!
Overlords by Amon+Re · 2003-10-30 05:25 · Score: 1, Funny

I for one, welcome our new Vietnamese Overlords.
Help Microsoft save some money. by luiss · 2003-10-30 05:28 · Score: 3, Funny

From the Article:

But Microsoft products are everywhere in Vietnam, and very few shell out the money for licensed copies. Almost 97 percent of the programs used in Vietnam have been illegally copied, costing Microsoft an estimated $40 million to $50 million a year.

I wonder if Microsoft brings makes more than 40-50 million a year profit in Vietnam? If not, this new policy could save them money! :)
MS next strategic business relationship move by GoofyBoy · 2003-10-30 05:30 · Score: 3, Funny

"Me love you long time."

(Mod me -1 Troll!)

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The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
1. Re:MS next strategic business relationship move by mhifoe · 2003-10-30 05:48 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  "Me love you long time, Office 2003 ten dollar."
2. Re:MS next strategic business relationship move by Anonymous Coward · 2003-10-30 05:58 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  This was Ballmer's last attempt to woo the Vietnamese.
  
  He's already got the 'sucky sucky' part down pretty well.
3. Re:MS next strategic business relationship move by pmz · 2003-10-30 06:14 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  He's already got the 'sucky sucky' part down pretty well.
  
  And the Vietnamese still refused. Man, Ballmer must be nasty.
  
  --
  Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
This is going to be the theme for 2004 by heironymouscoward · 2003-10-30 05:43 · Score: 4, Funny

The global war between the richest entity in the world and an invisible, omnipresent network of loosely affiliated die-hard extremists who live off untraceable sources of funding, wage a near-religious war, and threaten to topple a hegemony that has ruled for twenty years.

Yes, it's the Talinux and Osama Gnu Laden, striking fear into the hearts of Microsoft dealers and agents everywhere.

Seriously, how many such battles can Microsoft wage at once? OK to send the shock troopers to Munchen, to Costa Rica, but it's starting to become a conflaguration.

Laugh, but I predict the last stronghold of Windows will be the US, while in a few years only the rest of the world will have gratefully converted to Linux and FOSS and forgotten the dark ages of 'software license fees'.

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Ceci n'est pas une signature
YAOB Vietnam quote by EvilTwinSkippy · 2003-10-30 06:38 · Score: 2, Funny

You can code, or you can surf!

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"Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
--Dr.W.Edwards Deming
Re:Catfish by cyril3 · 2003-10-30 12:30 · Score: 2, Funny

That's what you think.