Mocking Bill Gates Mockery of the Mockup $100 Laptop

You'd think that a man who's got a few billion dollars in the bank, likes to be known throughout the world as someone that is charitable, and who likes to profess that one of his goals was to put a computer in every home -- someone like that wouldn't have a problem with this project. No, wait, maybe a little insight into that last statement -- a computer in every home, all running Microsoft software, that's what he really said. They kind of edited history recently when they quietly dropped the last part of the quote... Kind of brings the whole charitable aspects of this third-world computing thing into focus. [ED: Perceptive -real voice of Linux Today as it once was, i.e., without the facts - HC]

Bill Gates is out in force, mocking a mockup of the $100 laptop that google's co-founders are backing.

The 100-dollar laptop project is an ambitious one. It seeks to develop an inexpensive computer that just about anybody, anywhere in the world could use for basic computing -- a worthy goal, given the fact that in developing nations, a lot of people simply can't afford the cost of typical computing hardware. It's still out of their range.

You'd think that a man who's got a few billion dollars in the bank, likes to be known throughout the world as someone that is charitable, and who likes to profess that one of his goals was to put a computer in every home -- someone like that wouldn't have a problem with this project.

No, wait, maybe a little insight into that last statement -- a computer in every home, all running Microsoft software, that's what he really said. They kind of edited history recently when they quietly dropped the last part of the quote... Kind of brings the whole charitable aspects of this third-world computing thing into focus.

Sure Gates is a philanthropist -- but what a guy. He'd like to help supply computing to the world -- as long as the world is hooked on the digital equivalent to crack-cocaine.

I don't know about you, but I'm sure his disdain for the $100 laptop has nothing to do with it running Linux. No sir.

I'd like to add my own insight here -- last thing we need for people in developing nations that have just bought a computer (which, even at $100, is going to be an expensive item) -- is for them to have to pay the supplier of their operating system (if, in fact, Bill, in all of his philanthropic generosity would give away a light enough version of Windows to run on this kind of platform) another $50 or so bucks a year for Anti-virus and Spyware protection to the computer they just bought.

Don't forget, the thing is a wind-up unit too, so I can just picture the spin: "Microsoft -- we're helping the starving children of third world nations strengthen their muscles". And of course, there would be no discussion about the problem of the poor users wearing out that hand crank trying to get the CPU enough juice to grind through that last virus scan of every darn file on the system...

Yeah, that's what I'm all about -- let's get people hooked on the worlds most insecure operating system. Maybe their governments can help subsidize the cost of the anti-virus software, so they don't have to give up things like milk for their kids or fuel to heat their houses.

Shifting a bit here. I'm in my 12th year of running Linux for my computers at home, full-time. It was approximately November 1994 when I started booting into Linux full-time (I had a wicked Fvwm window manager setup back then ;).

That's 12 years I didn't have to scan for viruses. 12 years of simply checking my email with impunity. 12 years that I wasn't rebooting for unknown, strange reasons. 12 years of, near as I can tell, 40-60 percent gain in productivity, just stemming from the fact that I'm not fixing the insecure and unstable aspects of a Microsoft operating system for my own computing needs.

And I gotta wonder, does Bill even realize how much pain he's caused the collective home user in just our country alone? He wants to spread his "cheap" $600 laptop to a third world that cannot afford it in price -- but has he even considered the cost he's already burdened the world by turning a blind eye to security?

I don't wonder. I'll just say it. Shame on you Bill. I gotta ask: Is it time for another pie in the face? You got the cash for all the nice hardware you could want and you probably pay some lackey for the time to keep your stuff free of Trojans and ad-ware. Think about it man. You probably don't have to worry much about where the next meal is coming -- maybe it's time you started with a real philanthropic attitude, and joined the $100 laptop initiative.

Even if it's got something non-Microsoft (Linux) on it, at least with some real generosity and effort, it possibly wouldn't leave room for people to mock you.