har! har! this is a downward spiral.
* * *
Thailand's cheap PCs 'force Microsoft's hand'
http://newsvac.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=03/08/27/2244243
gulker writes "Microsoft declined to participate in Thailand's program
to offer $250 computers to citizens (whose average income is $7,000)
because it didn't want to lower the price of XP and Office. After 1
million of the machines were purchased, with Linux as the OS, MS has
relented and will now offer XP home and the standard Office suite for
$40, down from $500."
* * *
first the 40 will look more comfortable than the 500.
then a 10 will look even more enticing than a 40.
but what you are competing against, is muft. zilch. zero. null.
so if linux makes $250 pcs (Rs 12,000 approx) pcs possible,
imagine how proprietory+commercial software have contributed and sustained a
digital divide for decades.
elsewhere, i also discovered an excellent piece on brazil spearheading a
major govt=backed linux push. china has already mandated their government
will only used locally-made office software, and atleast the indian president
has stunned everyone with his rather vocal and bold call for indian techies
to embrace opensource+FLOSS for development.
btw, the websites that changed their index pages to a patent protest, are
doing so in a concerted way so that the EU does not sign on the dotted line
for some ridiculous patent policies.
did you read the papers today that developing nations are allowed to create
and sell cheaper medicines, so that the poor nations can afford medicines
without having to pay for patenting? quite a bizarre situation, but thank god
it helps the poor nations. would really make the rich and unwell wonder how
long they have to swallow the bitter pill of patenting.
:-)
LL
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