Microsoft Buys-off Foreign Governments

September 16, 2003 12:13 PM

Microsoft Buys-off Foreign Governments. Can you say "Bribery?"
posted by ZenMasterThis (17 comments total)

Wait, hold on, I'll do it for you all:

M$

There. Proceed.
posted by solistrato at 12:29 PM on September 16, 2003

They're still not selling baby formula to third world mothers, so I'm not going to get too worked up over Microsoft giving money away.
posted by Space Coyote at 12:34 PM on September 16, 2003

Wait, hold on, I'll do it for you all:

M$

There. Proceed.


Oh wait, here's some more:

Micro$haft
Microjunk
Microsucks

I'm sure I forgot a few. Proceed with caution.

Pure evil, I tell you.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:38 PM on September 16, 2003

And there were riches to be had all along the Bribery Coast...
posted by StrangerInAStrainedLand at 12:54 PM on September 16, 2003

Blah, i've spent all day mitigating virus/worm infections on our Windows networks... I just got to sit down now.

Damnit, billy gates.. stop making money and fix your software.
posted by shadow45 at 12:57 PM on September 16, 2003

Figured this was his wife's doing.
posted by thomcatspike at 1:06 PM on September 16, 2003

Ha Ha Ha... M$.

That's a good one... It's as though they were giving away free money and software to schools and countries who had the option of not taking it!
posted by hoborg at 1:41 PM on September 16, 2003

They're still not selling baby formula to third world mothers, so I'm not going to get too worked up over Microsoft giving money away.

exactly. i just can't get as outraged.
posted by th3ph17 at 1:44 PM on September 16, 2003

"I would like to spend it [$250 million in cash grants] sooner rather than later ... to get the money out and get it working," Wilderotter [Microsoft's senior vice president of business strategy] said.

I think that explains it all.
posted by dash_slot- at 2:05 PM on September 16, 2003

"Dubbed the Partners in Learning program, Microsoft said it will provide training and access to the latest computer technologies microsoft products to primary and secondary schools."

there.
all fixed.
in accordance with the "truth in news releases act of 2003".
posted by quonsar at 3:08 PM on September 16, 2003

Oooh, shock!, horror!, a company uses discounts to promote its products to emerging markets. How dare they!
posted by dg at 4:07 PM on September 16, 2003

I can think of at least a dozen things to get more worked up about than some company with a debatably Evil reputation giving away some money and product.
posted by ilsa at 7:27 PM on September 16, 2003

Linus Torvalds gives away his product. Why can't Microsoft?
posted by milnak at 11:18 PM on September 16, 2003

Linus hasn't been found guilty of using illegal means to uphold a monopoly for one thing.
posted by infowar at 10:27 AM on September 17, 2003

"Microsoft is like a tobacco company that wants to addict its users at a young age," as a guy from India said to me recently.
posted by hairyeyeball at 10:36 AM on September 17, 2003

"Microsoft is like a tobacco company that wants to addict its users at a young age,"

Yep. It's like a tobacco company in that respect. Also like Apple Corp. But unlike a tobacco company, Microsoft products don't cause fatal illnesses. [insert EXTREMELY original jokes here]

Use MS products. All the COOL kids do it. You wanna be COOL don't you?
posted by hoborg at 11:50 AM on September 17, 2003

Sigh. Microsoft bashing - how novel!

(Insert pithy, anti-Microsoft statement here.)
posted by FormlessOne at 12:55 PM on September 17, 2003