Slashdot Mirror
Nigerian Government Nixes Microsoft's Mandriva Block
An anonymous reader writes "After trying to bribe a local supplier with a $400,000 marketing contract, Microsoft has still apparently lost out in trying to woo Nigeria's government to use Windows over Linux. Microsoft threw the money at the supplier after it chose Mandriva Linux for 17,000 laptops for school children across Nigeria. The supplier took the bait and agreed to wipe Mandriva off the machines, but now Nigeria's government has stepped in to stop the dirty deal."
You know you're corrupt when the government of Nigeria steps in to block your shady deal.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
I wished they pay me to use Windows...
Libertarian Leaning Political Discussion Forum.
That Microsoft didn't even try to push their new OS.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
My name is Stephen Ballmer I am the Chair Executive of William Gates of Redmond in the United State of America. I am contacting you with regard to transfer of a huge sum of laptops from the OLPC project. Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you that everything has been taken care off, and all will be well at the end of the day. I decided to contact you due to the urgency of this transaction.
Good thing is is not Unix... It is Linux.
:)
To be realistice Windows 2000 and Up have been rather stable reliable systems... So if you were a spammer you will be able to get out just as many spams with windows as you would with Linux or Unix. Secondly Linux can be downloaded for free so if windows sucked that bad they will use Linux.
It is not like we are giving them Macs... [Ducks]
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
My question is this:
Did he get to keep the bribe?
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
My computer doesn't have a malformed copy protection driver. You must be one of those Windows users.
I'm waiting for a "-1 somepeoplejustshouldn'tgetmodprivileges" meta-moderation.
See what happens when you cheap out? A few million bucks in the Swiss bank accounts of some high government officials would, I'm sure, have smoothed the shiny golden road to a stunning African Vista.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
The way it works is that the people in Nigeria send you money. I'm waiting on my 5% commission for moving $48,000,000,000 right now!
Yes, this is a P.R. disaster in the making, in more ways than one.
The best way to predict the future is to create it. - Peter Drucker.
... as if 17.000 chairs cried in despair and then suddenly were silenced.
[O]ne of the guys I worked with came from Pakistan. He said he could live the rest of his life in PK on $150,000 (converted to local currency) with a nice house, servants, and no worries.
Hey, give the Microsoft management a break here. They've only been doing this bribery thing since about 1999, when they started making "campaign contributions" to help bring about a US administration that would stop the Justice Dept's lawsuit and settle on terms favorable to MS.
But, let's face it, 8 years really isn't enough time to figure out the rules for bribery everywhere in the world. To MS's management, $400,000 may not seem like a large amount. Most of their experience is with bribing US government officials, and that's probably somewhat of a minimal bribe in Washington. You can't get a nice house with servants in the US for $150,000, you know. You can't get a condo in DC (without servants) for that price.
But we can rest assured that MS's management is learning from this latest incident. They have people who read slashdot, so they have just been notified of the bribery "exchange rate" in Pakistan. As a result of their discussions with the legal folks in Nigeria, they are probably getting a feel for what's a reasonable price there. Next time, they won't make the mistake of over-bribing, since that tends to get noticed.
And we should all understand that corporate bribery is a lot more difficult than political bribery. Corporations are a lot more secretive with bribery, as they are with other company secrets, and it can take some time to learn just what sort of bribe various officers of different companies expect.
So give them time. In another decade or so, they'll have detailed internal databases detailing the proper approach to bribery in companies and governments worldwide. Then we won't hear stories about dumb mistakes like this one.
Actually, it's sorta funny they wouldn't already have access to a good database of bribery info. You'd expect that some of their "partners" or purchased companies would have it all sitting in a computer somewhere. Maybe they just haven't thought to ask around to see if the data is already available for purchase. Or, more likely, available for quiet download after a reasonable under-the-table payment.
If anyone knows where such a database might be found, maybe you should post the URL here. Think of all the companies you'll be helping. OK; forget that; I know you aren't going to give it out for free. But maybe some pointers to help the "just curious" reach you.
Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.