How Microsoft Inadvertently Helps To Fund FOSS

christian.einfeldt writes "The State of California sued Microsoft for anti-trust violations, and now the proceeds of the settlement of that case are being used to fund the acquisition of computers for any school district in California. The terms of the settlement allow every school district in California to be reimbursed a set dollar amount for the purchase of computers with the software of their choice. Microsoft probably anticipated that school districts would mainly use the settlement to buy more Microsoft products, with a few Apple purchases sprinkled in here and there. But now that Free Open Source Software is being commercialized by hardware vendors such as Dell, System76, EmperorLinux, Zareason.com, and TechCollective.com, acquiring computers powered by FOSS is straightforward. I'm a volunteer sysadmin at a northern California public charter school and in my Slashdot journal I detail the step-by-step process for using Microsoft's money to pay for the Linux purchases of your school's choice." And then there's the Ubuntu team in Belgium that is raising funds by auctioning off a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate that a Microsoft rep gave them at a trade show. So far the bidding is up to 101.76 Euros, about $144.

In Soviet Russia...

...Linux funds Microsoft!

Wow.

And then there's the Ubuntu team in Belgium that is raising funds by auctioning off a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate that a Microsoft rep gave them at a trade show.

This is exactly why Linux will never gain mainstream acceptance... Shitty marketing. Instead of doing something cool with it, and making a big PR stunt out of it.. (i.e., blow up your Windows disks.. that worked pretty well at the "blow up your disco records" event..) they're... auctioning it. Good job, guys.

Re:Wow.

IANAE (I am not an economist)

Actually, I really like the initiative. If done properly (that's a big if), the auctioned price could give an indication what people perceive the value of Vista to be. My guess is that it will be significantly lower than the price Microsoft set for is. Which, in itself, is an indication of the market power of MS.

Re:Wow.

Conversely, the though of supporting FOSS could artificially inflate the price, MS could ignore that fact, and could argue that people percieve Windows to be worth more than they are charging.

Double-edged-sword, that.

Ubuntu team in danger of liability action ...

If they knowing sell on something with known defects (that copy of MS Vista) and it screws up someone's machine -- would they not be liable for any loss that they endured ?

Re:Ubuntu team in danger of liability action ...

I imagine they'll send the guy a complimentary (or should that be "complementary"? ;)) (K)Ubuntu disk in the mail, with the instruction "You'd probably be better off using this instead, but here's the Vista disk you bought."

Re:Ubuntu team in danger of liability action ...

If they(Canonical) knowing sell on something with known defects (that copy of MS Vista)...

I imagine the support call to go something like this:

Vista User: Hi! I got a problem with Vista.
MS rep: Only one?
VU: Yep.. I can't activate
MS: Where did you get it? Or is it pirated?
VU: I bought it from Ubuntu
MS: Those guys haven't paid us protection money... like the good folks at Novell, Xandros..
VU: But it is still Microsoft Vista on the package... It's got this shticker as well... can I have a license key?
MS: Okay here you go... 54524524087698032413243064087513243404353040453204753047340873453207.
VU: I didn't ask for Ballmer's bank balance; just a license key!
MS: That's what I gave you...
VU: Okay... I typed it all in.. still won't go forward...
MS: Okay do this. Put that number in Excel 2007 and divide it by 345.43521; enter the first 128 digits, and then.. .hello? you still there????
VU: ..................
MS: Status: Waiting for customer. Next call please!

I wonder

Do you think there are people at Microsoft who go home and secretly work Linux by night?

Re:I wonder

You make that sound so... dirty.

Tell me more.

Re:I wonder

From the "CREDITS" file distributed with current linux kernel versions:

N: Raymond Chen
E: [e-mail]
D: Author of Configure script
S: 14509 NE 39th Street #1096
S: Bellevue, Washington 98007
S: USA

So yes, at least some do or have done.

Huh?

...now that Free Open Source Software is being commercialized by hardware vendors such as Dell, System76, EmperorLinux, Zareason.com, and TechCollective.com, acquiring computers powered by FOSS is straightforward...

Isn't that conflicting with the definition of "FOSS?"

using Microsoft's money

> using Microsoft's money to pay for the Linux purchases of your school's choice.

This isnt Microsofts money. This is the money Microsoft extorted from you and is now being forced to give back a tiny amount of this. Any cent that is not going to Microsoft (or even worse, to Apple), but to someone distributing Free Software is great, though.

Cool!

I like the fact that schools are (finally!) looking at Linux as a viable OS for the classroom. Seriously, we've come a long way - I remember trying to get it introduced as curriculum in 2000 at the college I taught at, and it took a metric ton of tooth-pulling to get done.

I've seen (at least in Utah when I lived there) schools transitioning from NetWare servers to Linux-based ones, but the classroom pretty much was all Windows, all the time.

Now when will we see OpenOffice being taught in the High School and collegiate business courses, instead of you-know-who?

/P

But they own linux

But Microsoft owns all of the copyrights for Linux anyway, according to Ballmer, remember?

And!

But now that Free Open Source Software is being commercialized by hardware vendors such as Dell, System76, EmperorLinux, Zareason.com, and TechCollective.com, acquiring computers powered by FOSS is straightforward.

Don't forget the teaching-mental-patients-to-install-Ubuntu-on-old-computers-and-that's-much-more-important-than-saving-the-gorillas guy!

Libraries can do this too...

with the Gates Foundation grants. Unless the process has changed since the last time my organization went through it, it's possible to spec out alternate equipment and software instead of accepting the "recommended" equipment. That, and if you have funds remaining after your purchase, you can buy more equipment, so long as it's for public computing. I funded a LTSP-based thin client server that way...

Uhh...

Not to sound like a dick but this sounds pretty anecdotal. I'd be willing to bet 90%+ will still be going right back to Microsoft.

What Microsoft thought doesn't really matter

"Microsoft probably anticipated that school districts would mainly use the settlement to buy more Microsoft products, with a few Apple purchases sprinkled in here and there." That's a pretty big "who cares" isn't it? Whatever Microsoft thought the fine would be used for doesn't make a bean of difference. The true irony would have been if the money WAS really being used to buy mostly Microsoft products. Then you'd have bamboozled consumers paying --> microsoft paying --> government fines paying --> schools paying --> microsoft ... end result Microsoft has the money. But that's not the case so it's all cool.

-- Julie

Microsoft Subnet [networkworld.com]: the independent voice of Microsoft customers

Kind of Misleading

The headline and Christian's summary are pretty misleading. They make it sound like the voucher money is being used for a massive adoption of FOSS in California. But all Christian really knows about is his own efforts to implement FOSS at his own charter school. I suspect that most of the money is actually getting spent as Microsoft thought it would: on Microsoft technology. This would be particularly likely at the non-charter schools that still make up the vast majority of the California system. The educational bureaucracy in these schools in particularly aversive to experimenting with alternative technologies.

Which is not to devalue Christian's hard work bringing FOSS to his charter school students. He's not only saving his school money, he's bringing the kids technology with a greater educational impact. But his story is really a How To item, not news item about Microsoft being hoisted by its own petard.

Re:Who exactly do I pay?

The fines Microsoft were given are being used to buy computers that have Linux installed on them. Rather simple to understand really.

Re:Still not funding

Well, at least the smart ones will buy Windows PCs for their students, since that will best prepare them for their future in the monopolistic non-thinking 'customer-is-a-criminal' world they'll going to grow up in, where large corporations dictate all terms, including the fines they receive, and tell you what is good for you whether you like it or not.

There, I fixed that for you.

Re:Why Is this Important?!!

Why would anyone be trying to promote Linux here at Slashdot? Everyone is either converted or never will be.

Re:Who exactly do I pay?

For my Linux purchase? How does not paying MS fund FOSS?

From the title you would think that MS accidentally funded some FOSS project. In reality a small portion of the computers might be purchased without MS software. How this translates to funding FOSS is indeed a mystery.

Re:$64bn dollars

What? Can someone translate that for me?

Re:Why Is this Important?!!

A hundred bucks or so that would raise wouldn't "fund" anything more than a catered lunch, if that.

Are you insane?

Do you know how many copies of Ubuntu that'd buy you?

Re:Charter Schools

You miss the fact that more talented kids tend to perform better amongst their peers. The charter school can be average, the very fact they skim off the top will make those students perform better because they aren't being dragged down to the lowest common denominator.

You make the standard mistake in this sort of discussion, assuming that money or facilities is the overriding factor, it is not. Far more important is the attitude of the people who surround you. Forget looser regulation allowing them to more efficiently spend money, the key factor is by putting the top 10% together that section will improve greatly just by being placed together (without any real, absolute, hindrance to the average I might add though there may be a relative disadvantage because the best suddenly got better).

Anyway the mental environment is vastly more important than the physical reality. A well motivated person will do far more with less than a unconcerned person would manage with brilliant equipment.