After takin' a swig o' grog, Roy Schestowitz belched out
this bit o' wisdom:
> "It's easier for our software to compete with Linux when there's piracy than
> when there's not."
>
> --Bill Gates
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/07/23/100134488/
Today Gates openly concedes that tolerating piracy turned out to be
Microsoft's best long-term strategy. That's why Windows is used on an
estimated 90% of China's 120 million PCs. "It's easier for our software
to compete with Linux when there's piracy than when there's not," Gates
says. "Are you kidding? You can get the real thing, and you get the same
price."
The real thing? To continue:
Indeed, in China's back alleys, Linux often costs more than Windows
because it requires more disks. And Microsoft's own prices have dropped
so low it now sells a $3 package of Windows and Office to students.
On a more political note:
Toward the end of Gates' trip, on the sidelines of China's Boao Forum, I
sat down again with the Microsoft founder. One of the things I wanted to
ask him was how he squares the company's "alignment" in China with its
leaders' suppression of free speech on the Internet and what many
consider to be their general disregard for human rights. Our
conversation, which had been flowing freely, ground to a halt. He said
nothing. His silence lasted so long I found myself piping up out of
discomfort. "That's a very pregnant pause," I said. "I don't think I want
to give an answer to that," he finally replied.
I wonder if he was rocking.
--
My godda bless, never I see sucha people.
-- Signor Piozzi, quoted by Cecilia Thrale
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