巴西政府對於 Microsoft 授權的問題：Followup on MS and Brazil in NY Times，在第一篇 comment 有全文，不需要去 New York Times 看。

其中一部份提到了巴西要求所有用政府經費發展軟體必須以 open source license 釋出：

On Mr. da Silva’s watch, Brazil has also become the first country to require any company or research institute that receives government financing to develop software to license it as open-source, meaning the underlying software code must be free to all.

另外他們打算讓巴西的低收入戶也能夠擁有電腦：

By the end of April, the government plans to roll out a much ballyhooed program called PC Conectado, or Connected PC, aimed at helping millions of low-income Brazilians buy their first computers.

在這個計畫中，他們不打算浪費任何一毛納稅人的錢幫助 Microsoft 壟斷，因為要避免壟斷的方法之一就是去培養競爭對手，使得 Microsoft 無法獨大：

“We’re not going to spend taxpayers’ money on a program so that Microsoft can further consolidate its monopoly. It’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that there is competition, and that means giving alternative software platforms a chance to prosper.”

另外，提供低價 (其實這種價錢與目前台灣的免費撥接比起來並不低) 的撥接網路連上 Internet：

Buyers will be able to pay in 24 installments of 50 to 60 reais, or about $18 to $21.80 a month, an amount affordable for many working poor. The country’s top three fixed-line telephone companies – Telefónica of Spain; Tele Norte Leste Participações, or Telemar; and Brasil Telecom – have agreed to provide a dial-up Internet connection to participants for 7.50 reais, or less than $3, a month, allowing 15 hours of Web surfing.