Slashdot Log In
Nigerian Government Nixes Microsoft's Mandriva Block
Posted by
Zonk
on Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:23 PM
from the money-well-spent dept.
from the money-well-spent dept.
An anonymous reader writes "After trying to bribe a local supplier with a $400,000 marketing contract, Microsoft has still apparently lost out in trying to woo Nigeria's government to use Windows over Linux. Microsoft threw the money at the supplier after it chose Mandriva Linux for 17,000 laptops for school children across Nigeria. The supplier took the bait and agreed to wipe Mandriva off the machines, but now Nigeria's government has stepped in to stop the dirty deal."
Related Stories
Firehose:Microsoft defeated by Mandriva in Nigerian rumble by Anonymous Coward
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Wow, just wow! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Wow, just wow! (Score:5, Funny)
Did he get to keep the bribe?
Parent
I can see the headline now (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, this is a P.R. disaster in the making, in more ways than one.
Parent
Still illegal (Score:5, Interesting)
Ever since the Lockheed bribery scandal [wikipedia.org], its been illegal for US citizens or corporations to bribe anyone, anywhere in the world, same as its illegal for them to engage in pedophilia abroad.
So, how much $$$ (campaign contributions - the only "legal" bribe) Microsoft is going to spend to "make this go away"?
Parent
Re:Wow, just wow! (Score:5, Informative)
Most bribary laws punish the person to accecpts the bribes not the person who gives the bribes, unless it is extortion. Bringing Clients to an expensive luch, giving them tickes to a sports game. It happends, and because the laws are targted at the reciever not the giver there is no reason for Microsoft not to try. So they lost the Deal, They wouldn't have gotten it in the first place if they didn't try. IT is really a no loss situation for them and it gave them a better chance of winning. It is not big news... Sorry.
Now personally, setting aside Microsoft, I think the FCPA is stupid, and tends to just put U.S. businesses at a disadvantage versus businesses from other countries that don't try to apply their own laws extra-territorially, or just generally have a more relaxed attitude towards bribery. It's a piece of legislation that was made at at time when the U.S. world leadership position was a lot stronger; now, it's just shooting ourselves in the foot.
But anyway, despite being stupid, the FCPA is law, and I strongly suspect that what Microsoft did was blatantly illegal under it. Not that they'll be punished or anything, but it's illegal.
Parent
Re:Wow, just wow! (Score:5, Interesting)
The really big surprise isn't the bribes. It's that the Nigerian government intervened to *stop* the bribes. Now, that could just mean that they didn't get their cut, but...
Parent
Re:Wow, just wow! (Score:5, Insightful)
It's Microsofts standard way of bribing, you mean. Offering 'marketing incentives' is the way they've done everything from get people on certain ISO boards to making sure PC makers dont install Linux.
They seem to get away with it on some technicality, even if they couldn't get away with giving actual money directly.
In the end it's a legal grey area. For some companies and some situations it would be perfectly fine, but in the case of the convicted monopolist, I dont think there's any doubt that it's their practice of getting around legal language prohibiting certain anti-competetive behaviour.
And morally, it's reprehensible and easily equatable with bribery. Both for those accepting the money and for those giving it.
Parent
A new low...amazing (Score:5, Funny)
You know you're corrupt when the government of Nigeria steps in to block your shady deal.
Re:A new low...amazing (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:A new low...amazing (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Now, now. (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
It's just tipping (Score:5, Interesting)
Microsoft apparently failed to pay all of the right people.
Parent
Re:A new low...amazing (Score:5, Interesting)
Heh. Even if you didn't believe we wouldn't be inclined to do that, we don't have the *capacity*. Microsoft can get $400,000 out of Bill's petty cash jar. We couldn't get $400,000 from anywhere.
If this really came down to a battle to see who could provide the biggest...er...factory-to-dealer incentive, we'd be dead in the water.
(I work for Mandriva, in case you didn't figure that one out yet).
Parent
What I like most is... (Score:5, Funny)
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL (Score:5, Funny)
My name is Stephen Ballmer I am the Chair Executive of William Gates of Redmond in the United State of America. I am contacting you with regard to transfer of a huge sum of laptops from the OLPC project. Though I know that a transaction of this magnitude will make any one apprehensive and worried, but I am assuring you that everything has been taken care off, and all will be well at the end of the day. I decided to contact you due to the urgency of this transaction.
The Nigerian official was furious. (Score:5, Insightful)
Just an hour back there was this story about MSFT including some game vendor's malformed copy protection driver for six year into every damn computer in the world. What percentage of them played that software? Why a corporate server that might end up in a blade rack without even have a dedicated monitor or mouse got this driver? Why are the corporations not demanding full disclosure of what dlls are needed and what are not? Why isn't there a third party service that will advice corporations which components of Windows could be safely removed by looking at the company policies and use patterns?
As long as the customers accept everything dished out by MSFT patiently, there is nothing we can do to make it change. Education of the customers is the most important thing if we are going to rescue computing from this monoculture.
Should this actionable against Microsoft? (Score:5, Insightful)
"If this were done in the US, would it be considered illegal?"
The next question would be:
"If yes, then should Microsoft be prosecuted?"
Further:
"If not, then why not?"
And for all the Microsoft apologists:
"Is this sort of behavior acceptable from your favorite software vendor/publisher/distributor, business partner? And if so, why is it acceptable? If not, please elaborate?"
Not illegal? (Score:5, Insightful)
In fact, the statement "Microsoft complies with law" is demonstrably false. The courts have spoken.
I grew up in the "third world" (Score:5, Interesting)
Education and technology can level the playing field. Perhaps in the first world, we can afford to argue about the merits of FLOSS vs closed source. However, this isn't the case when you are worried about where your next meal is coming from or if you can afford to vaccinate your child. The Gates Foundation could really show it's altruism by helping to support OLPC or the Classmate PC.
Cecil
Re:Ummm (Score:5, Insightful)
It's called "dumping", and in the U.S., is illegal when conducted by a monopolist. It also tend to violate a variety of world trade rules.
Furthermore, even if one can construe a scenario where it is legal (international run around the law?), it is extremely underhanded and a waste of government resources (they'd be paying for Windows and Linux).
As such, here are the issues:
1. It's probably illegal, and should be, but I'm not a lawyer.
2. Even if its not illegal, its shady business. And it demonstrates more and more than no sane company should get into bed with Microsoft, because Microsoft will do anything and everything to screw you.
Parent
Re:Ummm (Score:5, Informative)
I know that there is common misunderstanding and false assumption that bribery is only possible in government level. No, in business world it happens even more frequently and it IS illegal (Even if some business people would like to think otherwise). I won't get into details how much laws Microsoft broke with doing this, but please, people, keep that in mind - business or government level, such actions are illegal and can get your sorry ass to the courtroom in any country.
Parent
Re:Ummm (Score:5, Insightful)
If you worked for me, and i gave you the task of "Book me the best value business-class flight to australia"...
Let's say the best value would be Qantas, and they would fly me direct to australia business class for $4000...
But you received a bribe from United, who paid you $1000 to buy a ticket from them instead...
Their ticket costs $6000 and has a stopover half way, and thus takes longer.
You would benefit from the $1000 bribe, United would benefit from a sale. I would lose out on my time and $2000, because you used my money to buy me an inferior (slower) service that costs more.
You didn't do your job properly.
You wasted my money for your own personal benefit, you effectively stole from me and gave it to United, in exchange for a cut of it back.
Taking a bribe to spend someone else's money is fraud, and should be prosecuted accordingly. Also whoever actually took the bribe is not doing their job properly regardless of the law, and should be fired.
Parent
Re:Dirty deal? (Score:5, Informative)
Ummmm
The company shipping the laptops took money to wipe out Mandriva and ship with Windows.
So, I have a contract with you to buy 10000 widgets painted in red Du Point paint. And, 3m pays you money to paint them in a 3m yellow. Is that OK?
This isn't a "dirty" deal in what way?? It's doing an end run around the people they have a contract with. They did not have a contract with Microsoft, and Microsoft did not have standing to alter the terms of the contract.
I would call this dirty. Hell, I'd call it fraud.
Cheers
Parent
Re:Who would've guessed (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:I thought corruption was only a 3rd world probl (Score:5, Insightful)
I must admit that I thought corruption was a problem of the 3rd world alone. But now, we see that a [major] US corporation was perpetuating corruption.
Finally got tired of living under a rock, huh?
Parent