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All Things Microsoft => Microsoft as a Company => Topic started by: slave on 11 November 2002, 21:03

Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: slave on 11 November 2002, 21:03
http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/11/11/india.gates.reut/ (http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/11/11/india.gates.reut/)

He's such a generous man!
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: Zombie9920 on 11 November 2002, 22:27
I bet you will never see any Linux Distro company or Apple hand out that kind of $$$ to help the needy.


Oh wait, what am I talking about? Linux companies don't even make millions of $$$ to be handing out(because there is very little profit in the Linux market).
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: HibbeeBoy on 11 November 2002, 23:59
And here's why he is doing it.
Quote "Some 20 percent of Microsoft's engineers are of Indian origin and Gates said in a recent interview the company took a special interest in the country because of that."
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: rtgwbmsr on 12 November 2002, 00:12
quote:
Originally posted by Zombie9920:
I bet you will never see any Linux Distro company or Apple hand out that kind of $$$ to help the needy.


Oh wait, what am I talking about? Linux companies don't even make millions of $$$ to be handing out(because there is very little profit in the Linux market).



This is HIS money from HIS foundation. The money isn't coming from M$ (directly, anyway.)

Even if it were coming from a company, the only reason M$ has copious amounts of cash to give away is because they've ripped off millions of people.

And I don't know if I should respect him or hate him for the reason he did this.
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: pkd_lives on 12 November 2002, 00:38
quote:
Originally posted by The_Muffin_Man/B0b:


And I don't know if I should respect him or hate him for the reason he did this.



This is the card he lives on, the constant ambiguity. Support capitalism or don't support a company that is a convicted software pirate...hmmm.. talk about playing the emotional factor. With the way they market it's either/or, never compromise or acceptance.

He is using the foundation as a mouthpiece for M$, they use a large amount of Indian resource, and so he donates to the community of his workers (walmart does the same - but I won't shop there either) - sound business and good practice - any company that wants to survive a long time has to do this.

But I believe this is being done for one reason. Imaginary Advert : 'Other countries of the world use our products and you too might see large cash donations' - in light of Halloween VII, this follows suite?

And personally it is a waste of time. Until we start following Africa we will never fight AIDS through education - After all Africa is the only country in the world that has stabilised it's increase in cases annually. Every other country in the world is increasing it's cases by a bigger % each year.
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: enigma on 12 November 2002, 02:22
you know what.. ill give this to bill gates. he did good for once. i mean sure, there is probably some like, lawsuit waiting to happen w/ the 20% of indian engineers saying give them $$$ or we quit, but hey, i guess hes a good person for not firing the employees and being sued for breachment of contract... so yeah, good job, fuhrer.
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: HighLamb on 12 November 2002, 07:47
By compairing the things that Mother Teresa had done in India. Bill "Fucking" Gates is noting but a greedily business man!!!
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: Pissed_Macman on 12 November 2002, 08:05
quote:
Originally posted by Zombie9920:
Oh wait, what am I talking about? Linux companies don't even make millions of $$$ to be handing out(because there is very little profit in the Linux market).


Open source, dumbass
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: TB on 12 November 2002, 21:55
$100 million........sounds like sufficient downpayment for a M$ factory in smack bang in the middle of Bombay or Calcutta. So I guess M$ is about to jump on the same bandwagon as Nike....outsourcing  their labour to people who'll happily work for $1 a day.
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: mobrien_12 on 12 November 2002, 23:29
Hmmmm... now read this.

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-965378.html (http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-965378.html)

Here's the introduction.

"
The software giant plans to spend $400 million over the next three years to boost its presence in India, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates revealed today.

The planned investments will be in several areas including education, partnerships and localization, the company said in a statement.

"Today, India is of strategic importance to our business and will continue to be so, as its developer and skill base continues to grow," said Gates, who was visiting India for the third time. "

Coincidence?
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: Calum on 13 November 2002, 01:36
quote:
Topic: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
oh what a generous man, i think i'll go and spend several hundred dollars on imcrosoft software purely on the basis of that.
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: rtgwbmsr on 13 November 2002, 02:31
quote:
Originally posted by M. O'Brien:
Hmmmm... now read this.

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-965378.html (http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-965378.html)

Here's the introduction.

"
The software giant plans to spend $400 million over the next three years to boost its presence in India, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates revealed today.

The planned investments will be in several areas including education, partnerships and localization, the company said in a statement.

"Today, India is of strategic importance to our business and will continue to be so, as its developer and skill base continues to grow," said Gates, who was visiting India for the third time. "

Coincidence?



The plot thickens, and my respect for Billy just flew out the fucking window and slammed into the pavement.
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: DJ on 13 November 2002, 02:49
quote:
. . .Officials in India's Department of Information Technology in New Delhi disclosed details of an open-source move called the Linux India Initiative just weeks before his visit, The New York Times reported. . .


 :rolleyes:

DJ
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: voidmain on 14 November 2002, 05:15
The *real* story:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/28063.html (http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/28063.html)

 
quote:
Gates gives $100m to fight HIV, $421m to fight Linux
By Thomas C Greene in Washington
Posted: 13/11/2002 at 04:22 GMT

We do hate to rain on a high-profile corporate love-fest, but we have to point out that in addition to the much trumpeted $100 million Billg has donated to India's fight against HIV, he's funding the Microsoft jihad against Linux to the far more impressive tune of $421 million. That means that Linux is more than four times worse than AIDS to Billg and his happy Redmond family. God forbid any of them should learn the bitter truth the hard way and start talking sense.

Billg's personal $100 million goes to health initiatives over ten years, while $421 million of Microsoft's money goes, over a mere three years, to support MS-friendly development (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=28059762) and 'educational' initiatives (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=28055647). And being a monster MS shareholder himself, a 'Big Win' in India will enrich him personally, perhaps well in excess of the $100 million he's donating to the AIDS problem. Makes you wonder who the real beneficiary of charity is here.

Oh, and let's not forget the five, count 'em, five, vanity puff-pieces (http://theregister.co.uk/content/4/28039.html) appearing in the New York Times this week glorifying Billg's generosity, one of which he wrote himself. That's worth quite a lot too, in PR brownie points for both him and his company. It's far better than free advertising; it actually looks like news and therefore has immensely more persuasive value.

Interestingly, the NYT neglected to mention the gargantuan MS marketing tie-in and obvious bribe against, and obstacle to, Linux adoption in India. Certainly they've been falling all over Gates in their eagerness to give him ink, so we're at a terrible loss to explain why they could find no place, among those thousands of words, to plug in a brief mention of the $421 million in anti-Linux ammo he's delivering.



[ November 13, 2002: Message edited by: void main ]

Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: Doctor V on 14 November 2002, 05:38
Everyone says Bill Gates is bad and wants to control the world, but see, he gave 100 million dollars to fight aids in india so he's really a nice guy.  Lets all start loving Bill Gates now.  I guess he can screw me over some more and I'll just be happy about it.  Here Bill Gates, here's $400 for a worthless piece of shit OS thats worse that the last one you released.  I'm gonna buy it so that you and you 50 billion or whatever can get even richer.  In fact, I don't care how much money you decieve the public out of just so you make flashy ads and every couple of years hand out an amount which is an insignificant value to you, but really makes the media, which you control, say you are a good person.  In fact, I don't care how much you fuck the world over, if you give an insignificant fraction of your hoards of wealth away, you are number 1.

V
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: NJDevils on 15 November 2002, 22:51
Hey come on, while I hate microsoft, I dont think I will bash Gates on being a bad person. He didnt have to give out an extra $100 million to fight AIDS. It wasnt chump change either.

His being a good person, however, does not cover up the fact that his OS is an undeniably shoddy piece of work. I certainly wont pay for it, and if my workplace didnt require it, I wouldnt use it either.
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: pkd_lives on 15 November 2002, 23:39
It is small change for several reasons. It is 1/4% of his estimated worth (to you and me thats 25 per 10000 earnt, if WE were to give the equivalent in one year that he is giving over ten years - how much is he estimated to make over ten years?). It is from a foundation, which means he donated to the principle, which could have been a lot less. The tax benefits for the amount of money he makes far out weigh the cost of giving. But that is standard practice throughout the world.

Here is the bite. It's 100 million over TEN years, and M$ is giving over 400 million in funds for M$ education and M$ sponsored affairs over three years. I see a greedy man out to manipulate the masses. That's my opinion.
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: Bazoukas on 16 November 2002, 00:13
its all PR. He started doing that after many people put the presure on him about it during the late 90's. Many people were screaming about BG to give to charities since he is the wealthiest man on earth. And if you remember he didnt take it very well.

  Besides he is  not losing anything. The money that he gives will return back at him with interest.

  And the bottom line is this. Should we REALLY thank someone that wealthy for giving money to help others and this does not apply for BG only. Its sad that we give thanks for things that should be THE DEFAULT in our society.
 Besides its obvious that his motives with India are not that pure.

 I will give thanks to somebody who will give money and his wallet will be hurt by it.

[ November 15, 2002: Message edited by: bazoukas ]

Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: hm_murdock on 16 November 2002, 02:00
bill gates should buy everybody in the world a computer and some beer
Title: Bill Gates hands out millions to fight AIDS in India
Post by: Doctor V on 18 November 2002, 07:42
Watch that bastard dosn't hand out the money in cash, watch him instead donate to all kinds of Indian AIDS programs and medical groups by providing them with free software.  It wouldn't be the first time that he claimed he would donate shitloads of money and the media went crazy and dubbed him a saint, only for him to turn around and have the donation be his own shity overpriced software, and not cash.

V