At 11:34 PM 7/19/01 +1000, Sridhar Dhanapalan wrote:
>On Thu, 19 Jul 2001 22:27, Charles Oriez wrote:
> >
> > so it is. I went back and looked. It is in Geelong, with seems to be near
> > Melbourne in Victoria. Can't get any further south than that without
> > ending up in Tasmania. The LUG I sent a note to was
> > http://www.linuxsa.org.au/ They're in Adelaide.
>
>Sorry, I don't mean to be picky but Geelong has nothing to do with the
>charity or with Fairfax. Adelaide is in the state of South Australia, which
>is next to Victoria, where Melbourne and Geelong are. The Register's article
>simply mentions that the charity is in South Australia. Chances are that it
>is in Adelaide, South Australia's capital and largest city. Fairfax is a
>national publisher, with its largest offices in Sydney (Australia's largest
>city, in the state of New South Wales) and Melbourne (Australia's
>second-largest city, in Victoria).
>
>BTW, I live in Sydney :-)
I rechecked the original story, and the charity was very definitely named
as "PCs for Kids". No phone listing in Adelaide. Phone listing in
Victoria at 151 High Street, Belmont. Wilkins Tourist Maps online map of
Geelong, and the Australian white pages database, says Belmont is within
Geelong. They also have a web page at <http://www.pcsforkids.org> E-mail
contact is <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I dropped them a note, and got a copy of their original press release
almost immediately:
MICROSOFT BRINGS CHARITY TO ITS KNEES
Direct actions by Microsoft in Australia have forced Australia's largest
"Computer Refurbishing Charity" down on its knees.
Pc's for Kids Inc, a Geelong based non-profit organisation helping less
fortunate kids obtain their first home computer, has been installing older
versions of Microsoft's operating system to aid disadvantaged children.
Founder of Pc's for Kids Colin Bayes visited Microsoft in Sydney after
being issued with a letter stating this practice of hard loading is a
breach of Microsoft's copyright. Mr Bayes held meetings to try to obtain
assistance from Microsoft, which unfortunately fell on deaf ears.
In a letter issued to the charity by Microsoft, Microsoft has agreed that
no further action would be taken for past loading Microsoft software. But
this impasse has now meant the distribution of over 400 computers destined
for children in Australia and East Timor has been suspended.
Mr Bayes is now appealing to the public to rally behind the program. "We
need assistance." He said.
"This action by Microsoft and the follow-up communication has placed our
whole project in jeopardy. If we are unable to obtain the operating
software it will mean a lot of kids will miss out. We will be forced to
close our doors."
Over the past two years Pc's for Kids Inc has distributed over 1,000
computers in Australia and has also assisted in the delivery of computers
to East Timor and seven other developing countries under the guidance of
Rotary's Donations In Kind program.
Pc's for Kids Inc has collected over 700 tons in redundant IT equipment and
performs a full recycling program with assistance from the Federal Govt's
"Work for the Dole" scheme. Mr Bayes said he feared donors could now revert
to sending the old technology back to landfill.
Mr Bayes said his loyal team of caring volunteers have more heart than this
big multi-national company who have just wiped the smile from many
children's faces.
"We will be sending Mr. Gates some of the letters of disapproval received
from children when they hear what has happened," Mr Bayes said.
He said the Microsoft Legal Attorney stated in the letter that the charity
will have to obtain its own operating system and wished Pc's for Kids the
best of luck. Mr Bayes stated:" If a computer has been donated to the
charity in good faith with its donated operating system, and we reconfigure
it to ensure a donors files are removed and reload it back with its
operating system, surely Microsoft could consider the needs of our less
fortunate."
Press Release Issued By:
Colin Bayes President / Founder (0402) 149719
Pc's for Kids Inc Ph: (03) 52444146 Fax: (03) 52436026
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.pcsforkids.org Enc:
Friday 13 July 2001
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