LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Alan Kennington <akenning@topology.org>
  To  : LinuxSA <linuxsa@linuxsa.org.au>
  Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 11:51:49 +0930

PCs for kids (Geelong)

On the radio right now (972 kHz, Adelaide), a guy from
PCs for kids in Geelong is talking about how they're getting
legal threats from MS for daring to put Wind 3.11 and 95 on
old 486s and Pentiums to send to East Timor, Vietnam etc.
for kids. (Apparently the wind98 and later just require
too much RAM and disk.)

Eek. Now they've got the MS representative talking about
how it's important to "do the right thing" and 
"obey copyright laws" and get "legal software".
The kids have to pay for all the hours that MS put into
developing the software and removing the bugs.
Very annoying...

Anyway, when the PCs for kids buy was asked about linux,
he said that they had a buddy system going whereby kids
got help on MS software usage. He said that MS is waht is used
in the schools everywhere in the world. He said that 
loading linux and StarOffice on the PCs would cost
a huge amount in heartache and money.

Aarrgh. The MS woman rep said that all they were asking was
for the well-intentioned donors of hardware to donate
the software with the hardware and not just donate "naked PCs"!!!

Someone should just get in touch with the PCs for kids 
group and get them started on linux, I think.

Anyway, this kind of thing just shows that even people
who have the courage to organise second-hand PCs for the
3rd world don't have the courage to face linux.
There's a looooong way to go!

Cheers,
Alan Kennington.

-- 
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