WHENEVER we hear about Kenya [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] we tend to hear about corporate corruption and other misuses of positions of power. The counterfeiting wars are mentioned quite frequently too because the pirates from Microsoft and its front groups (such as the BSA) raid local businesses, sparking adoption of Free/open source software, which Microsoft in turn attacks in a variety of nefarious ways. To quote a new report:
Kenyans are turning to open source software, which are freely available to the public, after the fight against piracy was stepped up in the East African nation.
Microsoft East and Southern Africa and Kenya Copyright Board (Kecobo) have in the past months intensified war on pirated software, raiding several businesses suspected to be dealing in unlicensed software, confiscating computers and instituting legal action against offenders.
--P2PNet, 2005
Comments
Needs Sunlight
2012-01-10 12:43:13
These raids are probably intended as high pressure sales calls. However, with luck the Kenyan business men and women can take it as a wake up call, summon their dignity and do what Erine Ball Guitars did: http://news.cnet.com/2008-1082_3-5065859.html
If we are lucky there are thousands of Kenyan businesses that have been burned and will turn to FOSS to prevent getting burned again.