In Deutschland sind Pädophilie-Opfer aus dem Milieu wohl gleich selber schuld, gemäss einem Artikel von TelePolis. ¹ Das stinkt ja unfassbar zum Himmel. Da die Kinder sich wohl nicht anständig gewehrt haben, und auch sonst genauso geschädigt scheinen wie sie es schon vorher waren, wird der Täter nun frei gelassen. **Unfassbar!**
Eine Diskussion über das Design von *Kochutensilien* in der dritten Welt ² via WorldChanging ³.
As I’ve been arguing myself, another article talks about how free software goes beyond cost ⁴: It is also about creating a local software industry. The price is interesting:
“...Windows XP together with Office XP is US$560 in the U.S. This is over 2.5 months of GDP/capita in South Africa and over 16 months of GDP/capita in Vietnam. This is the equivalent of charging a single-user licence fee in the U.S. of US$7,541 and US$48,011 respectively, which is clearly unaffordable.” ⁵
Compare this with the prices I calculated myself based on Swiss numbers on 2003-08-28:
Microsoft Office XP Standard Version, if as expensive here as it is in India, should cost CHF 31700, or about USD 25000.
Why do I get about USD 25000 and he gets about USD 48000? I corrected the price using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) from the CIA factbook, whereas Rishab Aiyer Ghosh (the author of the paper) corrects for gross domestic product (GDP) ⁶:
Windows + Office XP equivalent US$ cost calculation = $560 _ (country GDP per capita_U.S. GDP per capita)
Tricky! 😄
(Please contact me if you want to remove your comment.)
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with Office and XP being so expensive and in efficient, you would think there is a huge oppurtunity for linux in india. Which there is. Yet its surprising to see (especially among software people in india) the number of people in India that are committed to microsoft. and believe in bill’s ’vision’. Its the ’I am with whoever wins’ mentality. Since Microsoft does a great job at marketing their message is the truth and the vision. I thought my fellow Indians with their software savvy would know better.
– v.rao 2003-12-18 19:45 UTC
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In a recent interview I gave here in Switzerland ¹ I was asked: “Since free software is already available today, why are developing countries using them so little?”
I wasn’t really sure, so I guessed: “Because they aren’t well known. That is why it is important that open source be mentioned in the official document. I hope that some heads-of-state in the third world can be convinced of open source software.”
Interesting that you should mention ’I am with whoever wins’... Is this an argument home users would use, or is it an argument by developers? Or managers?
My girlfriend, for example, wanted Microsoft products on her computer because she felt that companies were asking for Microsoft know-how in job applicants. And maybe they do. But she is clearly neither a comp-sci student, nor a developer. ;)
– Alex Schroeder 2003-12-18 21:31 UTC