Some Perceive Toddlers as Emerging Markets, a Business

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2009-10-29 01:49:10 UTC
Modified: 2009-10-29 01:49:10 UTC

I'm a Pee See

“They’ll get sort of addicted, and then we’ll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade.”

Summary: Kindergartens too become dominated by the Microsoft computer agenda

EARLIER today we showed how the Gates Foundation helps in getting schoolchildren "addicted" to Microsoft (so that Microsoft can "collect sometime in the next decade”). Lena from the Free Software Foundation Europe has just published the following testimonial from German kindergartens, not just schools (it's aptly titled "Microsoft goes kindergarten"):

Sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Families and in cooperation with the Cornelsen Verlag, a big publishing house for schoolbooks, Microsoft places its software called Schlaumäuse directly into german kindergartens.

How can it be reasonable to let companies indoctrinate the young for profit? Especially foreign companies, in case that matters. There is an economic, social, moral, and political issue here. Meanwhile we are finding that Bill Gates tightens his already-close relationship with the United Nations (UN), as we noted earlier this week. UN officials are now hanging out at his mansion. From the Seattle Times:

Today he [UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon] met with many groups in Seattle, starting with a breakfast meeting at the home of Bill and Melinda Gates, followed by a talk to the World Affairs Council on the U.N. in the 21st century and a lunch sponsored by the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce to address businesses about climate change and environmental stewardship.

As Gates Keepers puts it, "Moon doesn't answer the excellent question, carefully phrased as a 'some say' statement, whether super-rich ubermensch philanthopries undermine UN system organisation effectiveness. Too bad. The question deserves a response." ⬆

Comments

Dennis Murczak

2009-10-29 16:52:23

Did a few minutes of research: The schlaumaeuse.de site[1] has distinct Microsoft branding and states the initiative is meant to assist kindergarten children in language acquisition. It uses professional pedagogic language aimed at educators and doesn't directly advertise Microsoft products (apart of other "social initiatives"), but the image gallery on the press page requires Silverlight[2]. I tried to find out whether my city is already infected, but their Virtual Earth based locator doesn't work in Linux+Konqueror too. Also, Schlaumäuse is currently piloting in Austria, namely in the city of Linz[3].

[1] http://www.schlaumaeuse.de/Seiten/default.aspx (German) [2] http://www.schlaumaeuse.de/Informationen/Seiten/Presse.aspx [3] http://www.microsoft.com/austria/education/schlau.mspx (German)

Roy Schestowitz

2009-10-29 19:04:04

Vienna's GNU/Linux migration was derailed by Explorer.

Some Perceive Toddlers as Emerging Markets, a Business

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