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For Microsoft, Windows 10 Charity Begins At Home
theodp writes: "We're investing $10 million in organizations that are upgrading the world," Microsoft announced on in its new Upgrade Your World website, which was created in conjunction with the Windows 10 launch. "We've identified nine global nonprofits, and we'd like your help choosing the 10th." The missions of the selected nonprofits include fighting global poverty, preventing children living with HIV from needlessly dying, increasing access to quality education for children in the developing world, conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends, and ensuring that all kindergartners learn 'computer science.' To paraphrase Sesame Street, can you guess which cause is not like the others? If you guessed Code.org, which wants CS made a "core" K-12 subject in U.S. schools, you're right! Coincidentally, Code.org's biggest donors include Microsoft ($3M+), Ballmer Family Giving ($3M+), and Bill Gates ($1M+). And Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi, who once reported to Satya Nadella, is coincidentally a sometimes jogging partner of Steve Ballmer, as well as the next-door neighbor of Microsoft General Counsel and Code.org Board member Brad Smith, whose FWD.us bio notes is responsible for Microsoft's philanthropic work. Code.org emerged on the scene shortly after Smith suggested that action on Microsoft's 'two-pronged' National Talent Strategy to increase K-12 CS education and the number of H-1B visas could be galvanized by 'producing a crisis'.
" ...conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends, and ensuring that all kindergartners learn 'computer science.' "
How about we start teaching our kindergartners "critical thinking" instead?
Checking the site there are other causes listed that are far more important in my opinion:
Nokia Anonymous provides psychological counseling and moral support to victims who have spent billions on a cellular phone, only to spend billions more in an endless cycle of abuse.
the Explorer education program Teaches its members to become acid compliant, and learn to quit bad behaviors like ActiveX and browser preference stealing. Ultimately the explorer programs goal is to help its mentally challenged students to learn simple things like HTML5 and even simple forms.
The Steve Ballmer Institute: No one knows what condition afflicts steve ballmer. Hes a man once known to hurl furniture in fits of paranoid delusion, only to emerge days later caked in sweat and howling a chant of 'developers' over and over, in a schitzophrenic episode. The Ballmer institute seeks to heal by studying and, in time, formulating a treatment for this rare and profoundly sad disease.
Good people go to bed earlier.
And how do his summaries keep getting through?
This is the second incomprehensible summary accepted from this user this week about Microsoft and Code.org. The first was "Well-Played: Microsoft Parlayed NSF Video 'Remake' into National CS K-12 Crisis" ( http://developers.slashdot.org... ) and now this.
Apparently he's been at this for a while, too. Here's a Gawker article about the mystery of TheoDP from 2006: http://gawker.com/178280/the-m...
Does he have dirt on the Slashdot editors?
Leave it to Slashdot to make Microsoft giving 10 million dollars to charity seem like a bad thing...
Look. Charities have a lot things to deal with already, having to use Windows shouldn't be one of them.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
I didn't bother reading anything but the summary, because the summary takes every possible approach attempting paint criminals and scum as good for society. MS is lobbying for he wrong things for the sole reason of making more money. The 10mil is peanuts compared to companies which make a lot less profits without screwing over neighbors for "moh money"
Surely Gates, Balmer and even Microsoft could pay back society.. but this is not a a payment at all.. it is business as usual.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.