Brazil's love of Linux
Submitted by srlinuxx on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 06:29.
Walk into the Ponto Frio electronics store here, which proudly displays a penguin-shaped logo, and you will find a healthy supply of Linux PCs alongside the usual Windows machines.
The store's Linux love is indicative of Brazil's deep ties to open-source software. Visit the country's universities and you'll hear about many projects using open-source software in new ways. Step into the Brazilian data centers of some of the world's most advanced financial institutions and you will see they depend on the open-source software for many key tasks.
One of the biggest backers of Linux has been Brazil's federal government, which has a stated preference for open-source software and has mandated its use in the program that helps subsidize financing for low-cost PCs.
"What interests the government is to give options, to give alternatives to the proprietary--to the almost monopolistic domain," said Augusto Cesar Gadelha, secretary general of Brazil's ministry of science and technology.
Many of the country's technology leaders are more pragmatic than ideological.
Microsoft PR alert
From LT
Ina Fried talks about Brazil's big Linux usage but right off the bat implies it is not what the people want. And not only does the author start putting Linux down right from the start, the author uses the last few paragraphs to promote Microsoft's agenda. Adding quotes such a 80% of Linux PCs get Windows installed by users within 30 days and another 10% in another 30 days. That's write, the Microsoft employee is quoted as saying that 90% of Brazils Linux PCs are getting user installed Microsoft Windows.
The story is a pitch against Linux usage and very much about Microsoft's products and strategies. And the Microsoft employee also stated that Linux is good for Microsoft because it keeps them on their toes. He then goes on to say that it exposes where they need to do better with distribution. That is correct, not make better software but push harder in the distribution channel. That means limit choice folks.
This is classic Ziff/Davis style of doing Microsoft PR work.