Microsoft Sets Value Of Pirated Windows: $1

nick_davison writes "The BBC is reporting that Microsoft has reached a deal with the Indonesian government on pirated software - which is believed to affect around 50,000 government PCs. Under the deal, Indonesia will pay $1 per copy and agree to buy legally in the future. Indonesia's information minister, Sofyan Djalil, said, "Microsoft is being realistic. They can't force developing countries like us to solely use legal software since we can't afford it. They want us to gradually reduce our use of it." Somehow it seems unlikely the same rules will be applied to developing companies and poorer individuals in the United States."

Comments

They ripped off their neighbors.

[Erris]

You may laugh, but to me it's absolutely incredible that a foreign Government has been forced to pay a private company for alleged copyright violation and promise to be a good consumer in the future. How the hell did they prove that 50,000 figure? What were they going to do if Indonesia decided to give Microsoft the finger for each alleged copy violation? Someone got bribed and this is a mindless PR stunt by a country that should be using free software in the first place.

Free software has these advantages for Indonesia:

• Much better performance. Why waste government money of software that turns new computers to garbage when you can have software that tuns garbage into new computers?
• Better language support from Gnome and KDE and most major distributions.
• Ability to add said language support to any program at any time. (Freedom to modify)
• Freedom to make as many copies as desired. (Freedom to share)
• Auditability to insure you own your computers not Microsoft or some random hacker. (Freedom to study)
• And of course, Freedom to use for any purpose.

It's the lack of freedoms which has gained them the $50,000 fee, which could have paid five good salaries for a year. Why they would PAY MORE TO HAVE LESS is a mystery. The future cost of supplying their workers with Winblows will be much more if the officials who agreed to this humiliation stay bought.

Is Schappelle a microsoft employee?

[autopr0n]

She's not even american. Why on earth would microsoft care? What happened to her is no less tragic then what happens to anyone else caught smuggling weed into that country. But since she's hot, well, lets get all upset about it!!!!!11