All Things Microsoft > Microsoft as a Company

Schools turn down FREE M$ Software

(1/2) > >>

voidmain:
I don't believe this one was posted before. If it was, trash it:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/27878.html

 
quote:Namibia wisely spurns M$ 'gift' in favor of Linux
By Thomas C Greene in Washington
Posted: 31/10/2002 at 22:27 GMT

The African nation of Namibia is large in area and small in population with considerable distances between communities. Imagine the challenges of getting its schools wired to the Net. SchoolNet Namibia, a chiefly volunteer organization, struggles to do precisely that with a free ISP and numerous other initiatives to get the nation's schools, many of which lack any library resources at all, on-line.

Imagine the pleasure with which SchoolNet would initially have confronted a charitable overture from Microsoft involving free software. Now imagine the disappointment of learning that accepting the 'gift' would entail outlays of money in the range of fifteen times the value of the M$ Trojan horse.

The idea was to obtain fifty inexpensive laptop computers from Acer and for Redmond to donate some of its Great Software. It appears that SchoolNet had at least briefly labored under the illusion that the operating system software would be donated as well, but this was not to be. The company was willing to donate only free licensing for Office Pro, valued at $2,000," while SchoolNet would have to lay out an extra $9,000 for OS licensing in order to exploit the privilege of using the office software.

It gets better. Redmond had also made a generous offer to provide networking hardware and software, presumably to get SchoolNet off Linux, which it uses for both its networking and client services. It would be another 'Big Win' for Brian Valentine to bleat about in his mass mailings; but there were a few rough spots in this deal as well.

According to a letter from SchoolNet Namibia Executive Director Joris Komen to Microsoft South and East Africa Regional Manager George Ferreira, the cost of allowing Microsoft to exercise its generosity would be ironically prohibitive.

"From the outset of our consultative meetings with Microsoft, it was made abundantly clear that SchoolNet and NetDay would be happy to provide Microsoft with an opportunity to develop a potential alternative to our viable Open Source LTSP refurbished LAN and stand-alone Linux-PC solutions for schools and teachers in Namibia and further afield in Africa. The original understanding was that each of five pilot schools would be furnished with a 20 refurbished diskless thin-client computer + contemporary server laboratory, at Microsoft's cost, to show and tell Microsoft's extraordinary commitment to affordable LAN computer technologies for education in Namibia."

Unfortunately, as Komen explains, Redmond's understanding of the deal was a bit out of sync with his own.

"It became imminently clear that the development of a potential Microsoft alternative to our viable Open Source LTSP refurbished LAN solution at five pilot schools in Katutura would incur considerable cost for SchoolNet, given the revised understanding that Microsoft would not be paying for the refurbished hardware, but would only provide the software platform at some unknown Research & Development (!!) cost resulting from co-opting expertise from other third-party Microsoft partners.

"Such a change of direction would result in SchoolNet having to pay out in the order of US $4,500 per school to provide Microsoft with a significant educational branding opportunity in Namibia, coupled with free technical support service obligated by SchoolNet to all its school clients, in an extraordinary deviation from SchoolNet's commitment to provide skills development, technical support and helpdesk services to its Open Source LTSP LAN school clients and Linux-PC teacher clients."

Komen says he has no desire to turn his organization into a platform for Microsoft publicity, especially when the networking deal would cost the organization something like $22,000 by his reckoning, in addition to the $9,000 he would need to accept Redmond's incredibly generous $2,000 offer regarding the laptops.

SchoolNet Namibia will, obviously, be sticking with Linux.

Judging from this example it would appear that the obscenely rich Beast intends to use non-profit organizations in desperately poor countries to subsidize its promotional ambitions and its sales strategy.

No wonder Gates has more money than God.

Bazoukas:
From what i read all the time, looks like countries besides USA are making very bold moves to give the finger to Microsoft.

  I realy wonder why organizations here at USA dont get pissed and simply give MS the finger.
 I may be wrong about this, but it looks like Europe and other countries have more of an edge with their attitude when it comes to the MS monopoly.

[ November 03, 2002: Message edited by: bazoukas ]

pkd_lives:
Often times the US seems to stuck in following the crowd and believing the advertising and the hype.

It is a sad day sometimes, when I wake to find so many of us in this country shout freedom and follow the blind with no thought of our own. Well actually no I think the above is wrong. I speak for myself, and I know several people and companies who have already converted away from the status quo, and in some cases you just have to keep on demonstrating until they have no more holes to hide in.

The situation is not as bad as you think, it's just that in a society so driven through media such as television, it's often hard to see the real picture, which is that Microsoft is loosing the ground slowly. But these things are exponential.

We have to work at those in the organisations and charities who have no money, show them how it works. Imagine how much money these organisations throw away because they don't know there is another way, that is actually better. I am prepared to give of my time and experience - such as it is - to help those in greater need through no fault of there own. Indeed the example above is very good. It and the other artical about that town in Spain, are about people in tough situations finding a route out without the support of others, who see them as a honey pot from which to feed. Linux has enabled them to already suceed, what microsoft could offer cannot compete with what they already have. They learnt the way, if it ain't broke don't fix it. You don't need someone else to tell you how to run your business, you know what works you know what fails, take the road of knowledge and life just gets easier - well thats my view, I'm very optomistic about what happens in the rest of the world and what happens here.

10 years ago, Linux was nothing and look at it know, it is in more places than M$ was after 10 years, and it didn't have a burgeoning business to grow into, it came out fighting against an opponent that dominated the scene and it still hasn't even started to breathe heavily.

And you're right Bazoukas, the europeans do have more of an edge, thats primarily due to the fact the most people in Europe consider laws more in terms of guidelines, and that's something big business has troubles with, because they can buy questions and lobbying, but that does not mean the population will follow, they will provide lip service yeses and then ignore it in private and do what the fuck they want.

[ November 03, 2002: Message edited by: pkd ]

Bazoukas:
nicely said. I should take into account where Linux was 10 years ago, even though i am a total noob with the Penguin.

Mr Smith:
This is off the SchoolNet Namibia web site:
http://www.schoolnet.na/

http://www.schoolnet.na/pr/msftrelease.html

SchoolNet Rebuffs M$FT

An Open Letter To:

George Ferreira,
Regional Manager,
Microsoft South and East Africa  
Dear George, my whilom philanthrope;

On the wild notion of Microsoft being a partner in educational development with SchoolNet Namibia for a measly US$ 2,000 - passably, a succ

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page