Summary: Thai schools -- with government endorsement -- may help Microsoft earn some young customers

SOME days ago we saw this in Spain and it turns out that activists will fight back. We also saw this in Russia and some other places. Microsoft is very, very desperate to get children (tomorrow's generation) stuck with Microsoft. IDG, as expected, is completely missing the point about GNU/Linux in Russia, not to mention antitrust. In fact, it praises Microsoft for EDGI tactics, which should be made illegal.

No, really. Look at this. See how IDG describes a brutal tactic as though it's exactly what Microsoft press releases call it:

According to the Moscow Times, he also heaped praise upon local officials for their efforts in fighting the global recession. Never mind the Russian government's attempts to stabilize the Ruble by burning through its foreign currency reserves, or its leaders' tirades against the United States for causing the global economic slowdown. The Microsoft CEO praised the "amazing work the Russian government is doing" to boost the economy.

If this does not lead to nausea just yet, then the following reading about EDGI is required.

• Is Microsoft 'Pulling an EDGI' on Kerala? (Updated)
• Microsoft Vice President Teaches PR People How to Spin Anti-Linux Programme
• Microsoft Dumps on India, South Africa, Malta
• At Microsoft, “Fear Uncertainty Doubt (TALKING POINTS)” is Formal Strategy
• Microsoft's Dumping Strategy Versus GNU/Linux (EDGI Continued)
• Extended Windows 98 EOL to Block Government Migrations to GNU/Linux and Free Software; More 'Donations'
• Microsoft on “Maintaining Gap vs Linux” Using “Patents“, “Children’s Software“
• Microsoft's Internal Presentation on How to Fight GNU/Linux
• Microsoft Chief: “Under NO Circumstances Lose Against Linux”
• Microsoft's EDGI in India: Fighting GNU/Linux in Education
• EDGI Finale: Microsoft's “Linux Compete Squad”

As the title of this post suggests, Microsoft is now doing something of the same kind over in Thailand, where Free software like OpenOffice.org has gained strong government adoption. Lots of Thai children, however, will be pushed into Microsoft's so-called 'cloud', to which they will probably be tied even when they finish school.

In an initial stage, the company will begin a pilot project in collaboration with Sripratum University in which students at 2,000 schools around the country will be able to sign-on to Live ID, allowing them to experience Microsoft's Live service on a cloud platform.

We actually saw this coming back in March. It's also worth reading this leak about Live@Edu. As Bill Gates put it, “they’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.” This is not the first time Microsoft does bad things in Thailand (including threats), usually under the guise of "helping the people." ⬆

"In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep."

--Albert Einstein