“Microsoft has denied paying a Nigerian contractor $400,000 US dollars in a bid to battle Linux’s movement into the government sector,” Remmy Nweke reports for Macworld UK.
“Media reports alleged that Microsoft had proposed paying the sum to a government contractor under a joint marketing agreement last year in order to persuade the contractor to replace Linux OS with Windows OS on thousands of school laptops,” Nweke reports.
“Although a joint marketing agreement was drafted to document the best practices for using technology in education, it was never executed, said Thomas Hansen, regional manager for Microsoft West, East and Central Africa. It became clear, he added, that one customer wanted a Linux OS,” Nweke reports.
“‘As such, the joint marketing agreement became irrelevant; no such marketing agreement was ever agreed to, and no money was ever spent,’ he said,” Nweke reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “James W.” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: “No money was ever spent” but it would have been if we could’ve convinced them. Now, thanks for bringing this up: To all of the other non-Windows school systems in the world, whose budgets may be tight – especially the huge number of school systems with Macs – we have a lot of monopoly abuse money piled up, so let’s talk.
Great idea, full speed ahead
LOL, broken windows is the least of their problems… one would think that the blue screen of death is at least better than a bullet
For cheap school laptops, Linus is the best solution.
Linus is good, but I meant Linux
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Sounds Like the Old MS. For them to use Windows or pay someone to force them them use Windows. Or Pay a contractor to put Windows on the systems even if the customer as requested a different OS (just ask any old OS2 admin).
Isn’t it enough having to life in poverty, now you want to make them also suffer the unbearable agony of your unoperating “thing”?
Tsk, tsk
life = live
@Paul Zune’s Meathammer
How is a kid with a blanket going to help schools? I would think Woodstock or Patty would be most relevant here.
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The “marketing agreement” is the illegal document. However, MS has used this same “marketing agreement” over and over before and never been stopped though.
The way it goes is:
– they give you free or low-cost copies of Windows for all the computers in your school or facility.
– you agree by signing the “marketing agreement” that Windows is the best for educating your students and that you will always give MS the “first shot” at your tech needs (becasue you love them so much).
– the “marketing agreement” only comes into force if everyone in the area (province/state/town) agrees to it.
– big pile of money for you if everyone agrees.
So… nothing *technically* illegal, but any community that agrees to it is under no illusion whose products everyone *must* use and that they are all screwed if anyone cheats on it and uses a non MS product.
They also haven’t *technically* agreed not to use competing products, nor even to always use MS ones, but the effect is still the same. They have agreed to “agree” that they shouldn’t use anything but MS products.
But the contractor was going to wire $35 million to Microsoft’s bank account, and just need the $400,000 to cover the transfer fees!
LOL. well said r8lx!
Linus is better.
My thoughts exactly r8lx!! And why is this even news? Let MS waste their money.
So, Microsoft fell for the Nigerian email scam too?
Classic…
Microsoft are lyingass dogs. liars from the getgo. and that stinking fat slob who throws chairs around.