[kwlug-disc] free MS software for 3 years

[Khalid Baheyeldin]

I can't answer with specific figures, but back before Mac OS/X, barely
anyone in Egypt used Mac outside of the graphics shops, the advertising and
publishing business. I would imagine this to be still true, due to the cost
premium that Macs demand.

For home use, everyone just pirates Windows, since the intellectual property
police has no authority to go in homes, only businesses.

Linux is not widely known nor used still, outside of a minority segment.

Here is an interview with my brother from 2004 on how he switched to Linux
and why on the Egyptian LUG web site

http://www.eglug.org/node/481

On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 11:31 AM, Insurance Squared Inc. <
gcooke at insurancesquared.com> wrote:

> I'm curious what the OS makeup looks like in other places around the world,
> like Africa or South America or the old Russian provinces or Asia.  Everyone
> running MS locally like here?  Or are there other things going on.
>
> Khalid Baheyeldin wrote:
>
>> On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 10:45 AM, Raul Suarez <rarsa at yahoo.com <mailto:
>> rarsa at yahoo.com>> wrote:
>>
>>    Savvy business decision.
>>
>>    I've always been of the idea that all the Word sharing (some may
>>    call it pirating) of the 90's helped solidify Microsoft's
>>    dominance in this area.
>>
>>
>> That is exactly what happened in the 90s. My brother, a small business
>> owner, manufacturing, not tech, switched way before me to Linux because of
>> the pressure of Microsoft. After the initial "sharing" phase, Microsoft (and
>> others) got the government in Egypt to have a special branch for
>> intellectual property, and they were authorized to go to businesses and
>> inspect licenses, or original CDs. They did this for Windows, AutoCAD,
>> Oracle, and Novell.
>>
>> So, he switched to Linux rather than buy thousands of pounds worth of
>> licenses.
>>
>> Bill Gates is quoted saying "If they were to pirate software, then it
>> better be our software". Because after a while, they came and said : "you
>> have to legalize it" and that meant revenue for Microsoft.
>>
>>
>>    Now, instead of leaving it to chance they do the same as the drug
>>    dealers. Give it for free to hook up the client.
>>
>>    Whoever has built an application knows how difficult it is to
>>    change platforms, both technical and business inertia.
>>
>>
>> The irony here is that the market has changed, with Linux maturing on the
>> desktop more than it was in the 90s. So Microsoft is offering free to
>> compete against "Free", not against other commercial providers.
>>
>> So in a way, Free software has forced them to change their tactics.
>>
>> Let us see if it gains them market share ...
>> --
>> Khalid M. Baheyeldin
>> 2bits.com <http://2bits.com>, Inc.
>> http://2bits.com
>> Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
>> Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
>> Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
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>
>
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-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
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