"...Linux’s Ubuntu operating system comes for free and requires no updates, upgrades or expensive antivirus software to keep the laptop in shape. ..."
This is not completely true since Ubuntu does provide (various software) updates and upgrades.
"... The proximity of the Clintons and the Gates is well known to the world and needs no explanation. ... And the revelations of WikiLeaks only show how the US has been forcing governments across the world to buy expensive Microsoft licenses."
Really? That statement seems a little outrageous.
Ultimately, as the article highlights, why are states "...moving back to laptops for poor rural students preloaded with Microsoft Windows."?
Does a computer preloaded with Microsoft Windows provide a significant advantage over a Linux distribution? For example, what is the goal of providing computer to poor rural students? Is it to make them computer proficient or Microsoft Office proficient?
(Also, presumably, these low-cost computers (provided to poor rural students) are not capable to run Windows 7 or Windows 8 - what version of Microsoft Windows is preloaded?)
As for your argument, "computer proficient" versus "microsoft office proficient" .. there is a lot more you can do with a computer besides word-process documents, in spite of what Microsoft want you to think^Wbuy^Wconsume ..
The Bosnian cable mentioned only licensed software, not specifically software under Microsoft's licenses. I'd be willing to wager people within the gov't are allowed to use GPL software right along propietary. A key clue as to why this was the case may be in the line "ction to ban pirated and unlicensed software from ministry offices". More than likely, the Bosnia gov't was pirated copies of Windows on the belief that they had no legal obligation to buy the software.
The second article about the Tunisia gov't seems infested with ideological speculation and not actual facts.
The third article is with regards to the fact that Brazilian gov't adopted a pro free software stance, and that Microsoft felt that was unfair to their business efforts. The US gov't did not intervene or arm twist, but an ambassador did offer suggestions on how to create a more fair standard that would allow for both OpenXML and ODF. By the way, as a friend of mine pointed out, both of those are standards controlled by various standards body (ISO and ECMA).
And what is the goal, well in the short term it is surely to make them more employable and the jobs requiring say Excel outnumber those requiring C++ 100:1.
>> For example, what is the goal of providing computer to poor rural students? Is it to make them computer proficient or Microsoft Office proficient?
I am no Microsoft supporter, but you have asked an important question here: If the long-term goal is to teach them Office, so that they can do administrative tasks etc. at their future workplaces (which are probably running Office2k on WinXP, based on my [anecdotal] observations), then Windows+Office training might actually be useful to them. Not everyone is being trained to become a programmer.
Not everyone is being trained to become a programmer.
Why do you assume using Linux means you are training to be a programmer?
Personally, I have installed Ubuntu Linux on friends' "old" laptops that have gotten "too slow" for Windows upgrades. Instead of being thrown out, these machines are still being used for common tasks such as internet browsing and e-mailing.
Ideally, a non-profit - if there isn't one already - could install a Linux distribution on an "older" machine and give those to low-income students in the States. (How often do government agencies cycle through machines? What happens to those old machines?)
> Why do you assume using Linux means you are training to be a programmer?
> Personally, I have installed Ubuntu Linux on friends' "old" laptops that have gotten "too slow" for Windows upgrades. Instead of being thrown out, these machines are still being used for common tasks such as internet browsing and e-mailing.
I'll vouch for this. My wife uses Xubuntu, and she's an accountant. There was a period of learning for her, but then again, part of that was due to the fact that one can automate just about anything via cron. (:
Would learning on Open Office and/or Google Docs really set them behind? The document metaphor is identical, all the core functions are the same. Learning on free/open document software would have real practical advantages - if their family got a cheap pc or laptop, they'd immediately be able to exchange files with their families and train them without added expense.
It is not the government's job to train a generation of school children to slavishly conform to a particular proprietary product. Teach them how to operate a word processor not how to click the icons in Word which, by the way, will be in a new place by the time they get of age to actually get a job.
>This is not completely true since Ubuntu does provide (various software) updates and upgrades.
They probably meant that a major upgrade won't be needed to be paid for.
Anyway this is Tehelka, one of the big 'rags' in India, so don't expect any kind of objectivity or even truth from them. They will print anything if it drives interest.
Off-topic but in the past, tehelka has not been one of the most ethical publications so I would take their reports with a pinch of salt.
They were one of the few publications who were extremely pro-IIPM when investigative bloggers were pointing out that IIPM was a degree mill. It turned out later that the IIPM family was a big contributer to Tehelka.
I think their Wikipedia page does a good job of showing their record. They've done more investigative journalism than all of the other papers combined.
I didn't really call it fake, did I? It's a sensationalist publication that once actually offered and sent prostitutes rigged with hidden cameras to politicians. It's not a traditional publication by any means. In fact, the name itself means 'Sensation'.
There probably is some truth in this story, but take it with a healthy dose of skepticism, because you're not going see objectivity here.
Umm, you wrote "so don't expect any kind of objectivity or even truth from them" (note the last phrase). I think 'kang' was right to challenge you.
Anyway for readers who don't know India: Tehelka is an independent newsmagazine that specializes in investigative journalism. I also hold them in very high regard.
This is not completely true since Ubuntu does provide (various software) updates and upgrades.
"... The proximity of the Clintons and the Gates is well known to the world and needs no explanation. ... And the revelations of WikiLeaks only show how the US has been forcing governments across the world to buy expensive Microsoft licenses."
Really? That statement seems a little outrageous.
Ultimately, as the article highlights, why are states "...moving back to laptops for poor rural students preloaded with Microsoft Windows."?
Does a computer preloaded with Microsoft Windows provide a significant advantage over a Linux distribution? For example, what is the goal of providing computer to poor rural students? Is it to make them computer proficient or Microsoft Office proficient?
(Also, presumably, these low-cost computers (provided to poor rural students) are not capable to run Windows 7 or Windows 8 - what version of Microsoft Windows is preloaded?)
Edit: Updated styling.