[nflug] community GNU/Linux education - thank you

[Cyber Source]

Ken Smith wrote:
> On Mon, 2006-01-23 at 15:51 -0500, Eric Benoit wrote:
>   
>> yes we received "free computers" from them but with a "agreement" that 
>> we had to purchase Microsoft Licenses, I asked several times if we could 
>> just get the free computers and I would put linux on them ...at the last 
>> meeting our school had with them I was not invited and decisions were made.
>>     
>
> Just a "For What It's Worth"...
>
> This is a common business practice that *lots* of companies engage in,
> not just Microsoft.  The end goal in most cases is to help the community
> in a fashion that in some way also benefits the company.  We see all
> sorts of companies doing this sort of thing.  The easiest pathway is
> "Educational Discounts" but many companies have "Educational Grant"
> programs, etc.  In Microsoft's case (as well as other software vendors)
> it's a bit more challenging because in the cases of the schools that are
> the neediest they can't just heavily discount their software.  The
> schools most in need of help don't even have the computers needed to run
> the software.  Hence this program.
>
> Sun, Dell, Hewlett Packard, Apple (to name a few) all do exactly the
> same thing (to a lesser degree because their budgets for this sort of
> activity are smaller than Microsoft's) though those companies don't have
> Microsoft's problem of the company itself not producing a "complete
> solution".  They can all give away (or sell at way below cost) a fully
> functional object while Microsoft needs to provide the computer itself
> somehow.
>
>   
I don't buy that reasoning at all. When M$ wants to put some competition 
out of business, they are more than willing to jump into bed with others 
to do so. I'm sure if they really wanted to, they could strike a deal 
with a hardware company to provide all the necessary stuff to schools 
and the needy. With all the glut of hardware around and I'm sure I only 
see a fraction of it, this is not a terribly huge request. At M$ defense 
(and I don't come here often), they have made many donations but from 
what I have seen they are almost always self serving in some way. As a 
business man, I don't think there is anything wrong with that but I also 
don't think they go nearly far enough. Linux vendors like Ubuntu, Fedora 
Project, Mandriva are all showing just how much can be done and when you 
put their efforts in comparison to M$ efforts, knowing the $ that M$ has 
to work with, it makes it very pale in comparison. Linux vendors are 
showing just how modern companies can evolve in todays market with very 
innovative ideas. Whenever I see M$ doing something that is suppose to 
be for the benefit of others, it just seems like a glutton throwing a 
dog a crumb and keeping an ever watchful eye on the pantry door.
Sorry for the rant, just my 2cents.
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