Protests in India used Boycott Novell banners
ASUS and Microsoft kickbacks are a subject we have not re-raised for weeks [1, 2, 3], but fresh signs are suggesting that Microsoft's anti-competitive tactics in this area of sub-notebooks continue unabated.
Microsoft is colluding with netbook hardware vendors to deny customer choice and protect profits
A widespread project to equip Spanish primary students with laptops was under attack by the free software community for being an undercover operation from Microsoft to take over the educational system in the country. Now the government is considering a kind of dual booting system.
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But it still seems that the powers that be in Spain haven't given this new focus much consideration: publishing school textbooks in Spain is a multimillion-euro business and many publishers have insisted that the digital books that go on to the laptops be DRM-protected. How exactly this would be technically and legally implemented on an all FLOSS-based device remains to be seen.
“It’s just like Portugal and the Magalhães fiasco. The company involved was brought to court for charges of fraud.”Our informant from Australia writes: "I don't think I've ever been more disgusted and angry at the state of IT and education in Australia... ever. Today the blatant nepotism and conflicts of interest (corruption) has reached a new level, especially in New South Wales.
"They won't use Linux but they'll voluntarily become beta testers for Microsoft and make our children beta testers for Microsoft as well as part of their corporate advertising slog [PDF].
"They reject the top flight Linux distro's and then they willingly agree to become Microsoft guinea pigs and test bunnies. Do I smell CORRUPTION ? Money changing hands...
"Ubuntu is not good enough but Windows 7 is ???? It is nothing short of sheer brinkmanship, disgusting corruption, and child abuse. Making our children corporate beta testers for Microsoft and offering kickbacks to schools who adopt and push Microsoft software."
We have already seen kids waging protest against it.
"It reeks of collusion -- collusion in which our children are used," concludes our informant and reader. ⬆
“They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”
--Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO
Comments
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2009-05-26 14:49:19
To understand how second rate software and education materials are imposed on people, you have to understand the that the intent is to rob everyone. It is hard for people who grew up with public libraries to imagine the restricted digital future, so everyone should read Richard Stallman's amusing and frightening 1997 short story, "The Right to Read". It is amusing for it's retrospectively optimistic setting, is there anyone else left who thinks there will be colonies on the moon by 2047? It is frightening for it's insight into the rapacious goals and social impact of digital restrictions. The goal really is to drive everyone deep into debt for the information most people willingly share when given the chance by institutions like Wikipedia on a free internet.
We must not let corrupt leaders create such a suspicious and enslaved future. The solution is simple, to adopt first rate software and educational materials. At an institutional level, this should be an easy sell. At a personal level it is as easy as sharing. Keep sharing and demand the right to do it in the open.