Microsoft is giving away free software to nonprofits, and critics
charge that this is a deliberate plot to undermine open-source alternatives
that were gaining ground in the nonprofit sector. I’ll have to leave it
to economists to decide whether Microsoft’s strategy is good or bad for
nonprofit organizations in strictly economic terms. (Economists might
also ask whether it is a good deal for taxpayers to let Microsoft take
a tax deduction for donating Windows, each copy of which actually costs
the company nothing). Likewise, I’ll have to defer to antitrust lawyers
about whether this strategy violates laws against anti-competitive pricing.
My concern is different from either of these. It may be that open-source
software is good for civil society because it promotes cooperation
in the writing and improving of the code; diversity (since
open-source products can be tailored for various purposes and produced
by many actors); and creativity by a wide range of individuals
and groups. Whether open-source products such as Linux actually have these
effects is an empirical matter than needs to be assessed. I suspect, however,
that nonprofits like to use open-source products for these reasons and
not merely to save money. If that is true, then Microsoft’s donation is
insidious.
Hey
I don`t know if this e-meil I just got will make me earn som cash, but I`ll find out as soon as i get a Microsoft Program… I guess it will only work if I have bought a packet