Bonum Certa Men Certa

What Does Microsoft Want From Spain? (Updated)

Ogg Theora







Direct link



Summary: Microsoft seems unable to leave a GNU/Linux-bound Spain alone; antitrust probe launched against Microsoft in Russia

THE DISCOMFORTING NEWS from Spain is something that we covered a lot in the month of May. The following posts probably provide necessary background because they accumulate or concentrate many information resources and facts we won't repeat here:



The news is circulating quickly, suggesting that the President of Spain says that Bill Gates recognised GNU/Linux success in Extremadura. The video above is very telling because the man may have fallen for the whole "charity" storyline [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The President of Spain confirms it: Bill Gates named Extremadura's GNU/Linux project as "a worldwide leader for ITC and open source" and here is a new report about it:

Extremadura has been surely the first region in the world to introduce Linux massively in the schools. The Linex Project was started in 1999 and now it counts with more than 80.000 PCs among its schools with a ratio of 2 students per computer. Additionally, Extremadura has widely deployed Linux in more government areas, as Health and rural public points for Internet access and social digitalization.

After Extremadura, Andalusia and Valencia, two of the most populated regions of Spain, have developed similar but bigger projects based on open source and Linux. In the case of Andalusia, its medium education holds currently the biggest Linux network in the world with more than 250.000 computers accounting clients and servers, all them administered from a central point in Seville, the capital of the region.

[...]

But , of course, as OSOR continues saying the strong open source community of Spain is against paying to Microsoft for something that is not needed:

The Spanish free software association, Hispalinux, criticised the laptop plan in April, saying for instance that the government should have requested a public tender for the laptops. The debate now includes dual-boot systems with both GNU/Linux and Microsoft software pre-installed, raising questions about the Spanish government paying for proprietary software licences it might not use.



"A very interesting article," says Matt from a Linux forum. "Apparently Gates goofed when he tried to name the region of Spain where Microsoft has a big Windows project going. € That would be Aragon, but he either couldn't think of the name or mentioned Extremadura by mistake."

To quote some more from the above, "the story didn't finished with the correction of such a supposed "mistake", since, on Tuesday June 2nd, the President of Spain, Mr. Zapatero, confirmed in a public event that "Bill gates told me that 'there was a region in Spain that shines as a world leader because the extension of the new technologies and the open source in it, and this region is Extremadura'."

"Here is a nice map indicating Linux adoption in Spain," adds Matt. He also gives some articles to serve as background (we covered most of them before):



We've put more details about Catalonia right here, claiming that it was akin to EDGI. For some background on EDGI, see:



Speaking of EDGI, Microsoft appears to be trying it in Russia right about now*. Why? Because Russia is fed up and it has just launched an antitrust investigation against Microsoft. Spain should do the same thing, but given the video at the top, someone quite crucial seems to have been placed in Microsoft's pocket already. As enthusiastic as he is, he fails to spot Gates' mistake. ______ * Microsoft recently dumped money on Russia to prevent risk [1, 2, 3].

Update (05/06/2009): Here is the same video with subtitles.

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
 
Gemini Links 11/06/2025: Grain and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Links 11/06/2025: "Quantum" Hype From IBM, US Closer to Martial Law, and “The Nation” Celebrates Milestone
Links for the day
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Links 10/06/2025: Apple Hype and Physical Attacks on Bloggers
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/06/2025: Loon Lake, Farming, and Forth
Links for the day
Links 10/06/2025: Jaws at 50 and US Democracy Crushed Very Rapidly (Martial Law Seems Imminent)
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VII: Washing Their Hands After Corruption and Abuse
"Tragedy or comedy?"
Culling Bad RSS Feeds of Bad Sites
Not throwing out the baby with the bathwater
If 'Microsoft v Techrights' is Dealt With by a 'Microsoft Court' (or a Court Outsourced to Microsoft)
More on that later
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 09, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, June 09, 2025
Gemini Protocol Turns Six in 10 Days From Now
If you haven't tried it yet, then give it a go today
Live as You Preach
technology is fast becoming dysphoric
Gemini Links 09/06/2025: Addition Addiction and Nitride
Links for the day
Links 09/06/2025: Science, Hardware Projects, and Democracy Receding
Links for the day
Computers Got Smaller, So GNU/Linux Got Bigger
Many people here recognise the lack of urgency (or need) to get expensive new laptops
BetaNews is a Plagiarism and LLM Slop Hub, the Chief Editor Isn't Addressing This Problem Anymore
SS Fagioli is basically a parasite leeching off or exploiting other people's work
Links 09/06/2025: Chaos in Los Angeles and Hurricane Season
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Grows at Windows' Expense and Microsoft Trolls Infest and Maliciously Target Articles About It
Microsoft is - and has long been - organised crime
They Say I'm Mr. Bombastic
They didn't take good lawyers
Links 09/06/2025: Windows TCO and Many Data Breaches
Links for the day
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VI: Political Stunts by Former President Edyta Demby-Siwek and the Connection to Profound Corruption at EUIPO
it's like a money-laundering operation where one politician rewards another at taxpayers' expense
Gemini Links 09/06/2025: Pipelines and Splitgate
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 08, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 08, 2025