04.22.09

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Is Microsoft Paying Russia to Take Schools off GNU/Linux and Halt Antitrust Action?

Posted in Antitrust, Asia, Europe, GNU/Linux, Windows at 8:58 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

House gift

Summary: Microsoft dumps what it claims to be a $300 million investment on Russia amid antitrust pains and massive migrations to GNU/Linux

THE MIGRATION of Russian schools to GNU/Linux is already known to many because it was covered extensively in the press. What is never covered in the press, however, is EDGI, which we previously covered in:

Microsoft is afraid of Russia because its internal intelligence shows GNU/Linux usage figures that are exceptionally high over there.

Now that Russia is moving to GNU/Linux en masse (starting with the young generation), guess what Microsoft is doing, because of (or despite) the fact that Russia intends to act upon Microsoft's monopoly abuse? Microsoft is paying Russia what it claims to be $0.3 billion (software costs nothing to reproduce) in order for the nation to change course.

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said the software giant would invest $300 million in Russia projects over the next three years.
[...]

Microsoft intends to expand the Dream Spark program that provides software to Russian university students.

This is more harmful than helpful to these student. For information about DreamSpark (which we covered too many times to be worth repeating):

Microsoft is still up to its old, anti-competitive tactics. There is no “new Microsoft”. █

“Microsoft Corp is using scare tactics to exert pressure on PC vendors not to explore the potential of desktop Linux”

–Ron Hovsepian, Novell

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5 Comments

andre said,

April 22, 2009 at 1:42 pm

What you forget to mention is that this is exactly the pay-off strategy from the procurement side. Sure, the 300 mio$ are insignificant.

“Ballmer signed an agreement with the Space Research Institute to start a program to study climate change and pledged support for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.”

Russia aims higher.
Roy Schestowitz said,

April 22, 2009 at 1:46 pm

Andre,

Here is a relevant broadcast.

Putin Jabs at US Over Global Economic Crisis (2009)
NotZed said,

April 22, 2009 at 5:29 pm

Now they’re robbing the blind too.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25368314-23289,00.html

Roy Schestowitz Reply:
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:24 am
It’s a familiar scheme.

Linux club helps firms hide from Microsoft

[...]

Local authorities and companies who are interested in ditching their proprietary software in favour of open source are being encouraged to join a confidential scheme that aims to protect them from the attentions of firms such as Microsoft.

The initiative, called The Incubator Club, is said to be a response to the tactics employed by some major software vendors against firms and organisations who consider using Linux.

According to Eddie Bleasdale of Netproject, an IT consultancy firm that runs The Incubator Club, Microsoft has repeatedly tried to stop potential Linux migrations — sometimes with notable success.

“Whenever we’ve gone public about a client moving to Linux, Microsoft has come in and offered remarkable incentives for them to stay as they are,” Bleasdale told the Open Source in Local Government conference in London on Tuesday.
Roy Schestowitz said,

April 22, 2009 at 5:36 pm

If you followed Rothschild/Rockefeller you’d know that the more crimes you commit, the more you need to pretend to be charitable, even if your ‘gifts’ cause more harm than good.

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”

Sir Winston Churchill
British politician (1874 – 1965)