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Microsoft Denies Sabotaging Mandriva Linux PC Deal
Posted by
Zonk
on Saturday November 03, @05:19AM
from the fair-market-etc-etc dept.
from the fair-market-etc-etc dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft has denied sabotaging Mandriva's deal with the Nigerian government to supply Classmate PCs from Intel along with a customized Mandriva Linux operating system. 'From Microsoft's perspective it's a matter of choice. In the statement sent to InternetNews.com, Microsoft said it believes individuals, governments and other organizations should be free to choose the software and other technologies that best meet their needs. "We are seeing strong market demand for Windows on low-cost devices to help governments in the areas of education, local innovation, and jobs and opportunity," the Microsoft spokesperson said in the statement.' The company's denial is in response to Mandriva's CEO Francois Bancilhon expression of disappointment with Microsoft."
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An anonymous reader writes "An entry on the Mandriva Blog, written by Mandriva CEO François Bancilhon, says that the Nigerian government, after ordering thousands of Classmate PCs with Mandriva Linux installed, has suddenly decided that they will instead install Windows. They will pay for the pre-loaded Mandriva Linux on the low-cost computing devices intended for children in the developing world, but immmediately replace the OS. The blog doesn't quite use the 'B' word but does suggest that this was not a decision that the Nigerian government made on its own."
Firehose:Microsoft denies sabotaging Mandriva Linux PC deal by Anonymous Coward
Microsoft Denies Sabotaging Mandriva Linux PC Deal
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Slightly funny (Score:3, Interesting)
How about "Microsoft has a strong relationship with the government and people in Nigeria and will continue to help meet their needs" ?
Maybe cynical - but history shows... (Score:4, Insightful)
I suppose by "their needs" they mean "Microsoft's needs". And the government has money and power, the people don't.
Re:Maybe cynical - but history shows... (Score:4, Insightful)
(Last Journal: Saturday March 11 2006, @12:10AM)
Re:Maybe cynical - but history shows... (Score:5, Funny)
(http://www.quantumtemple.com/)
Re:Slightly funny (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Slightly funny (Score:4, Funny)
(http://www.dangercollie.com/music/)
How about "Microsoft has a strong relationship with the government and people in Nigeria and will continue to help meet their needs" ?
Should read: "Microsoft has a large bank account and will continue to slip cash to certain government officials in Nigeria." There, that fixed it.
You can have any OS you like as long as it's ours (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://jfctravelclub.com/travelblog/)
That choice is Vista Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate. Microsoft will do anything to make sure that they get a stronghold in emerging markets, they don't care what's best for the user (of course sometimes windows is the best option, doesn't mean it is all the time)
Re:You can have any OS you like as long as it's ou (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.sigsegv.cx/)
Once we made sure that the aforementioned individual no longer had any information the shipments started arriving unmolested (not counting a dent or two in transit).
On top of that the aforementioned rep was handing out cracked copies of MSFT products the way drug dealers hand out cocaine laced candy to kids to anyone who wanted them.
This all continued until the country economy picked up enough. And then, you know the drill... Bill Gates having a meeting with the president on the subject of rampant software piracy and so on. The rep went to work elsewhere and claimed that he never ever had any relation with Microsoft. And so on...
Nuff said. No further comment necessary.
Re:You can have any OS you like as long as it's ou (Score:4, Insightful)
(Last Journal: Monday February 13 2006, @07:11PM)
how about (Score:4, Funny)
(http://www.generation.no/)
Standard business in accordance with the law. (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://www.justgiving.com/underwatercycling)
Their whole argument of "people should be free to choose the best software for the task" is a little tongue in cheek. After all, the initial procurement was probably far more lengthy and in depth than the quick 'jerk' reaction to taking MS on board afterwards. They did probably buy what was best for their requirements in the first place.
It would be interesting to see what laws on software dumping are present in Nigeria (not many, I'd estimate), so yes, they're obeying Nigerian law. Not necessarily the law as applies to the country that any given reader may be in.
So, they can happily state that while engaging in business practices that are illegal in countries other than the one they are making that transaction.
This kind of U turn (and added expenditure, if obeying the normal laws of the Western World) is not really possible without "greasing the wheels"..
Smoke and mirrors once again, Microsoft.
Oh really? (Score:4, Interesting)
(http://slashdot.org/)
And so they respond with ending Win98 and WinXP while pushing Vista in spite of the fact that the vast majority of users don't want it?
Re:Oh really? (Score:4, Informative)
(http://slashdot.org/)
Title is Misleading (Score:5, Informative)
(http://neolicity.blogspot.com/)
Yes, business can be cutthroat at times, but when you get a tiny competitor's product to not be used even after being ordered by the customer and yours to replace it, things seem highly suspect. Since this is in Nigeria I presume no anti-trust actions will occur, but the relevant officials should take note.
Re:Title is Misleading (Score:5, Funny)
Well if they deny it... (Score:4, Funny)
(http://www.fredshome.org/)
But if they say it wasn't them, it must be one of those freak events we keep reading about in News of the World.
Mandriva still got paid right? (Score:1)
Anti dumping laws (Score:4, Interesting)
(http://www.phcomp.co.uk/)
To an extent this is moot since the investigation will proceed at a glacial pace and by the time that it concludes it will all be a done deal.
A fine bit of Clintonesque "what 'is' is" spin (Score:2)
OTOH, MS can't allow a large number of users to be exposed to Open Source software, so...
In unrelated news (Score:2, Funny)
"Blood? What blood? Thats not chicken blood,
it is ketchup. I am a vegetarian!"
Thomas
Yeah, right (Score:1)
You call thaT A DENIAL? (Score:5, Insightful)
Obvious LIES (Score:3, Insightful)
(http://www.linicks.net/)
Then why is the Nigerian Government still paying Mandriva for the contract they was happy with (and still appear to be happy with it)? This is so obviously MS bunging them money AFTER they lost the fight, and telling them "Here you are, here is a few million to get rid of that and install Windows - we will pay for the loss".
Business as usual... (Score:5, Insightful)
Show of hands:
1. Who knows that Nigeria is an oil producing nation?
2. Who knows the Nigerian people see barely a thin dime of the money?
The government of Nigeria has shown itself to be easily corrupted at the expense of the people. See wikipedia [wikipedia.org] and read the part about the government. It's not hard to imagine something crooked going on with this.
Any word on how M$ is going to avoid massive amounts of pirating of software by unleashing their steaming pile of OS on a 3rd world nation? Or do they just assume that everybody there will pirate the stuff anyway so they just want to "sell" a few licenses in the process?
Hey Microsoft, give me a choice, please... (Score:2, Interesting)
Hey Microsoft, are you now starting to realize that you are unable to compete in the marketplace without using the tainted money from your cash-cow monopoly?
New definition (Score:5, Funny)
It's just "good" business. (Score:4, Insightful)
(http://samwyse.suprglu.com/ | Last Journal: Wednesday December 06 2006, @11:22PM)
Hope every MSFT customer demands the same deal (Score:3, Insightful)
(Last Journal: Wednesday October 31, @08:33AM)
How much Fear Uncertainty, Confusion, Extortion, and Doubt will be needed to maintain the revenue growth? (Someone please give me a good K-word to make a good acronym to upgrade FUD).
Point: microsoft cares (Score:2, Insightful)
(http://starynkevitch.net/basile/index_en.html)
Why even deny it? (Score:2)
(http://slashdot.org/~nurb432/ | Last Journal: Friday August 27 2004, @03:24PM)
This is hardly even news.
Choice? (Score:2)
May I be the first to say (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://kim.biyn.com/)
In one conversation I had with my Nigerian-born business partner (OK stop laughing I'm serious. He's been a naturalized citizen for ten years, is a Christian, the son of a pastor, and I know one of his brothers as well. He's good people.) I learned that it's very much like India multiplied in that no decisions are made without palms being greased. I also learned that Nigerians who come to America will not do business with other Nigerians due to the level of corruption. It's not that all Nigerians are corrupt, it's just that corruption is so pervasive that they don't trust one another.
(Interesting thing about him: he's very suspicious, is more pro-American than most native-born Americans, gets far more involved in politics than most of us do, and yet when he sees evil going on in this country he doesn't complain. He just laughs and says evil people will do evil things, and what can be accomplished by talking about it and then continues on with his work. As an aside, he's the most productive worker I've ever encountered as well.)
My guess? Some official initially chose Linux as the sensible solution, and then Microsoft's money greased a high-level official's palms. I don't think it's necessarily Microsoft that did it, but a third party (plausible deniability, elimination of a paper trail involving even swag, etc.) which somehow benefits from the sale of Windows rather than installation of a(n) (inexpensive|free)/free OS.
Re:May I be the first to say (Score:5, Interesting)
(Last Journal: Friday October 05, @10:56PM)
Err (Score:2)
Long-term cost and application availability (Score:2)
(Last Journal: Sunday September 02, @06:01PM)
Unless, of course, everybody involved just assumes that the Windows applications will be pirated. In which case, Microsoft is complacent and at least implicitly endorsing piracy.
Interpretation (Score:1, Troll)
- Which market, the US?
- Low-cost devices demand a low-cost OS, not one that costs the same as the hardware (or more)
- Education & local innovation by Windows? Most applications are shareware and innovation is killed by OS license & closed source
- Jobs & opportunity, by demanding technicians for the buggy OS, and demanding that each takes a lame MCSE license to get a job?
Their own statement stands against them... one just have to look at it from a non-MS angle.
Sabotage? (Score:2)
Wire us $$ and we will install your OS (Score:2, Interesting)
(http://informationsoftworks.com/)
We know from the letter, that the devices will be shipped with Mandriva Pre-installed. And that Mandriva has already been paid. It also seems likely that money has already changed hands in favor of the Nigerian government to support this "sudden change of heart".
Now, suppose you are one of the teachers that evaluated, and "qualified" the mandriva solution that comes pre-installed on the laptops, and you get this CD that says "Take 200 hours and install this untested, mystery OS on all 200 of your schools laptops, destroying the one you are already familiar with." How likely are you to actually comply? Will it come to MS deploying goons to ensure the software gets installed?
From a country that specializes in "Wire us some $$$ and you will be rich", it may be the case that MS marketing drones may be experiencing the joys of an industrial-scale 419 [419eater.com] scam.
Mandriva in Nigeria - Microsoft in Africa (Score:3, Interesting)
Mandriva didn't have an office in west Africa until January of this year.
In contrast, Microsoft has hundreds of millions of users world-wide, directly employs 31,000 people abroad and has billions to spend on development projects in Africa and elsewhere in the third world.
A search of allAfrica.com" [allafrica.com] returns 1,300 hits for Microsoft and Nigeria in English alone.
Dismiss as many of these stories as you like as PR. The reality remains that to a Financial Minister, the Minister of Education, a partnership with Microsoft can make very good sense.
NGLUG, the Nigerian Linux Users Group [nglug.org] presents an earnest face. But stories such as these suggest that Linux has a long way to catch up with Microsoft in West Africa:
Linux girl bags first Novell certification in Nigeria [2005]
"You are the first Lady CLE in Africa and the first CLE in Nigeria - you have the highest mark so far amongst the other CLE's in Africa including South Africa."
"Linux Accademy of Nigeria has not started training and I have not found someone who knows when they will start." [August 2007]
And we should believe Microsoft because ... ? (Score:2)
OTOH, I'm not sure that "tortous interference with a business relationship" is an international crime, so maybe they *could* have safely admitted it. But if they did I'd imagine it might show up in various legal hearing on illegal monopolies (illegal use of monopoly?).
MS: Campaigning for the role of most loathed international criminal conspiracy.
I'd like to be there... (Score:2, Insightful)
Sabotaging? (Score:2)
Microsoft (Score:1)
(http://www.imagineware.net/)
No, I deny it.
My hand has a strong relationship with the gov...er cookie jar and will continue to partner with said cookie jar and cookies to help meet their needs.
Wake Up Nigerian Citizens (Score:1)
(http://sudheer.net/)
Citizens of Nigeria, see what's happening in your country. Get to know how your tax paid money is spent by your government officials on software licenses. Can your government afford to change decisions after the lengthy evaluation and pay two vendors?
François could have appealed to the people pf Nigeria in his blog rather than openly accusing Ballmer.
Pervasive psychopathic lack of ethics (Score:3, Insightful)
Choices, choices.... (Score:2)
Option a) Install Linux
Option b) Install Windows and have lots $$$ appears in your Swiss account
Take your time, you have a completely free choice....
Unlikely (Score:1)
Yah right (Score:1)
(http://mexinetica.com/~lanjoe9/bloginetica)
This deal is not fair. (Score:1)
(http://djmattyg007.x10hosting.com/)
two good outcomes if microsoft does get installed? (Score:2)
- MS actually manage to produce a new OS which is actually less bloated than their predecessors
- That the new MS OS proves to be so slow and bloated an insecure, it is dumped in a very public manner bringing shame to MS, and the OLPCs are reloaded with linux, the cost of which has to be born by MS
I just thought of another...Sorry, got carried away.
Baited? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:tagged STFU (Score:2, Funny)
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=xp+search+dog&btnG=Google+Search [google.com]
Re:I don't see the problem (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I don't see the problem (Score:1)
They can't go to any potential buyers and show them that the Nigerian Goverment is using Mandriva and is very pleased with it.
Sure they get some money now, but this might cause them to loose sales in the future.
American's Pay Twice Too ... (Score:2)
Hey, Microsoft can get us computer users here in North America to pay twice for a computer operating system too. Once for the Vista license, and then a second time for the XP license ...
At least the Nigerian's only pay Microsoft once!
Re:tagged STFU (Score:2)
(Last Journal: Saturday April 15 2006, @06:21PM)
Unfair mod (Score:2)
Re:I don't see the problem (Score:1)