Blane
1
BILL GATES' recent mission to India seems to have backfired.
At the time, His Billness was rightly nailed for cynically exploiting a largely manufactured AIDS "crises" on the subcontinent -- coincidental with his flying counterstrike against the Indian government's earlier declaration to employ Linux throughout its offices and in education.
Now Reuters reports that the Vole's announced $400 Million in investments and *cough* gifts to India's schools seems to have had the opposite of its intended effect of stifling Indian interest in Linux.
In its coverage of a three-day Linux conference attended by 2,000 users in Bangalore last week, the wire service wrote: "Enthusiasts said a four-day visit by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates last month drew welcome attention to Linux...."
Atul Chitnis, an adviser to the Bangalore Linux Users Group, was quoted as saying:
"No one could have possibly arranged for more publicity for the open source movement and its importance than Bill Gates coming and giving $400 million to fight Linux.
"Probably, the biggest boost that open source has got in recent times in India has been due to Bill Gates's visit."
Two Microsoft representatives pitched the Vole's "Shared Source" scheme, but the story doesn't say if they handed out NDAs or had any takers
At the time, His Billness was rightly nailed for cynically exploiting a largely manufactured AIDS "crises" on the subcontinent -- coincidental with his flying counterstrike against the Indian government's earlier declaration to employ Linux throughout its offices and in education.
Now Reuters reports that the Vole's announced $400 Million in investments and *cough* gifts to India's schools seems to have had the opposite of its intended effect of stifling Indian interest in Linux.
In its coverage of a three-day Linux conference attended by 2,000 users in Bangalore last week, the wire service wrote: "Enthusiasts said a four-day visit by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates last month drew welcome attention to Linux...."
Atul Chitnis, an adviser to the Bangalore Linux Users Group, was quoted as saying:
"No one could have possibly arranged for more publicity for the open source movement and its importance than Bill Gates coming and giving $400 million to fight Linux.
"Probably, the biggest boost that open source has got in recent times in India has been due to Bill Gates's visit."
Two Microsoft representatives pitched the Vole's "Shared Source" scheme, but the story doesn't say if they handed out NDAs or had any takers
