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.