Why Microsoft Must Control One Laptop Per Child
,----[ Quote ]
| It's a threat Microsoft can't let stand: the entire third world learning
| Linux as children, and growing up to use it. And Microsoft is going to get
| its way.
|
| It comes after a sudden wave of SCO-like problems for the OLPC project. A
| specious patent lawsuit over keyboards. Board-member Intel thrown out of the
| project for attempting to convince national governments to drop OLPC
| purchases and go with its own (Windows) product. First, OLPC is shown what
| its problems will be if it doesn't cooperate with Microsoft. Then, Microsoft
| approaches with money and technical help - you just have to run Windows to
| get it.
|
| [...]
|
| Unfortunately, I don't believe that Microsoft's intent toward the OLPC
| project is at all benign. They will promote their OLPC software load for
| DRM-locked content with the help of proprietary publishers who are threatened
| enough by open content to throw some zero cost but DRM locked e-books to the
| third world. If they can get governments to commit to the DRM-locked content
| on your platform, a non-Microsoft OS is going to be out of the race.
|
| Also, nobody who wants an open platform for the third world is
| being "religious" about it, promoting sound public policy is not religion.
| I'm really tired of hearing that old saw brought up, please stop it.
`----
http://technocrat.net/d/2008/1/10/33518
According to Microsoft's team which is responsible for "addicting" children to
Windows (Gates' words):
OLPC in the News (Part 2)
,----[ Quote ]
| Between Microsoft employees and third party contractors that we have brought
| into the effort, we have over 40 engineers working full-time on the port. We
| started the project around the beginning of the year and think it will be
| mid-2008 at the earliest before we could have a production-quality release.
`----
http://blogs.technet.com/jamesu/archive/2007/12/05/olpc-in-the-news-part-2.aspx
Related:
Microsoft denies dual-boot Linux/Windows XO laptops are on its agenda
,----[ Quote ]
| It looks like the head of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Chief Nicholas
| Negroponte is not only alienating Intel, but Microsoft, too.
`----
http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=13468
Lessons from Africa: How to Kill Your Own FUD
,----[ Quote ]
| So, even as Microsoft claims superior quality over Linux, they act as if they
| don't even buy their own FUD. If they really believed that Windows was
| superior to Linux, they wouldn't have to bribe people with “marketing help”
| to get them to choose Windows.
`----
http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2007-11-09-030-26-OP-MD-MS
[Mandriva CEO:] An open letter to Steve Ballmer
,----[ Quote ]
| Wow! I’m impressed, Steve! What have you done for these guys to change their
| mind like this? It’s pretty clear to me, and it will be clear to everyone.
| How do you call what you just did Steve, in the place where you live? In my
| place, they give it various names, I’m sure you know them.
|
| Hey Steve, how do you feel looking at yourself in the mirror in the morning?
|
| Of course, I will keep fighting this one and the next one, and the next one.
| You have the money, the power, and maybe we have a different sense of ethics
| you and I, but I believe that hard work, good technology and ethics can win
| too.
`----
http://blog.mandriva.com/2007/10/31/an-open-letter-to-steve-ballmer/
Poor Kids' Laptop Cranks Up
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates earlier this year told the Microsoft
| Government Leaders Forum, "Geez, get a decent computer where you can
| actually read the text and you?re not sitting there cranking the thing
| while you're trying to type" (see Bill Gates Mocks $100 Laptop).
`----
http://www.redherring.com/article.aspx?a=17302
Governments Must Reject Gates' $3 Bid to Addict Next Billion PC Users
,----[ Quote ]
| Specifically, Bill Gates, citing China as an example, said:
|
| "Although about 3 million computers get sold every year in China, but
| people don't pay for the software," he said. "Someday they will, though.
| As long as they are going to steal it, we want them to steal ours.
| They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to
| collect sometime in the next decade."[1]
`----
http://www.cybersource.com.au/press/gates_set_to_addict_next_billion.html
|
|
