On Nov 3, 9:44 pm, "[H]omer" <s...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> The criminal mindset extends beyond Redmond:
> | We all know that MS operates on a
> | manipulative level on a grand
> | scale, but unfortunately, that isn't where
> | the damage has been done.
Microsoft's customers aren't end-users. Microsoft sells it's licenses
to OEMs or IT managers such as CIOs or CTOs. Microsoft depends on
those people to deal with the "Little People".
> | [...]
> |
> | Many of you are aware that Lobby4Linux.com operates a charity
> | called Komputers4Kids. We proudly and quietly set our 100th
> | computer two weeks ago. It was one of these last few installs that
> | triggered "the incident".
We need to get you "ramped up". Check with Dell, HP, and the local
county recycling centers. You would be amazed at how many "Linux
Ready" computers you can get for free. Train a few dozen boys from
the local middle-school or high school, and you could be doing 100 per
WEEK.
> | Here is how it happened.
> |
> | I got a call three nights ago from one of our "clients". Amy is 13
> | and an extremely bright girl. She was not only thrilled to get a
> | new computer, she was "totally and like way thrilled" to have an
> | operating system that didn't require three other programs so the
> | system would work like any other.
> | That was until her mom got ahold
> | of it.
Sounds familiar. Like so many who have had the pleasure of starting
with a PC that has already been properly configured with Linux and a
full complement of applications. So much for than giving them a URL
or a "Cheap Bytes" CD and telling them to install it themselves.
> | "Is this Ken?"
> |
> | "Yes it is."
> |
> | "Hi, this is Amy *********. You installed a computer for us last
> | Monday...you know, I was the one with the black truck in the
> | driveway you liked?" (a 55 Chevy 1/2 ton that was in the process of
> | restoration - beautiful!)
> |
> | "Ah yes Amy...what can I do for you?"
> |
> | Amy was a bit hesitant and it became
> | obvious that she was maybe
> | just a tad frosted at her Mom.
13 year old girls are SUPPOSED to be frosted at mom.
If they weren't THAT would be weird.
> | "Well, a couple days after you put the computer in, my mom's
> | boyfriend came over and was messing
> | with the computer and said that
> | it was junk because it didn't have Windows on it.
That is just rude. You provide a high quality system, at no charge,
and he decide to tell everybody that it's junk.
Why?
To impress mom and get laid?
How many drinks did he have that night?
> | He left then came back with some Windows program
> | and it was working but now when I turn it on it says
> | that some program is illegal and that I need to
> | call Microsoft.
What a wonderful example to set for a child and at the age when they
are learning the values, ethics, and responsibility of handling
situations that may be in the "Grey Areas".
He "Impressed Mom" by committing a federal felony
in the full view of an impressionable minor.
What next, raping the little girl?
Was Mom also getting child support?
You should call up Microsoft and give him the name
of Mom's boyfriend. Tell the mother that you will reconfigure
the machine legally. Tell her that if the machine is illegally
configured again, you will have to report her to social services.
Make sure that she knows that Copyright violation is a felony
punishable by 5 years in federal prison. As an accessory to
the fact, she could also face prison time. You have provided the free
computer, but if they want Windows, they can go to the store and
purchase a copy for $259.
> | "[Microsoft] are willing to lose money for years and years just to
> | make sure that you don't make any money, either." - Bob Cringely.
> | -http://blog.businessofsoftware.org/2007/07/cringely-the-un.html
This link is very appropriate to this conversation.
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