Dear GKD Members, I am writing from Oaxaca, Mexico where I am visiting communities in the highlands. They have been beneficiaries of a very cool project financed in part by the Gates foundation to install a wireless connection and a set of computers for the schools. We are working on a network in the Latin America region for communities for which we use by preference FireFox as our browser. We suggested they try this browser as Explorer was causing problems, and discovered to our surprise that the Gates foundation "gift" comes with tags.
The computer network does not allow any of the users of the donated computers to install any software not owned by Microsoft, even any open source software. The network within which the computers reside will not allow any individual computers to download software to install, ostensibly to prevent viruses and incompatible software from jeopardizing the Microsoft system. These are computers installed for educational purposes in a number of telecenters in the public libraries in Mexico for all the young students preparing for a global world. These computers are therefore their only affordable access to the Internet and to learning about computers and programs. A significant number of them will leave this town to work at least part of their life elsewhere in Mexico or in the U.S. Their work and career opportunities will depend upon their skills and preparedness. I am reminded of my youth, working in the vicinity of USAID programs which only purchased American-made cars shipped to remote corners of Asia for irrigation projects, etc., because the tied money only allowed US bids. (Ever try to blow up a pneumatic truck tire with a bicycle pump in a small town in Asia? ) Is this standard Gates foundation policies?????? Is this type of tag allowed?? Interested to hear from those of you who are more knowledgeable on this point. Augusta Molnar Director, Community and Markets Program Forest Trends 1050 Potomac Street NW Washington, D.C. 20007 Phone: 202 298-3006 Fax: 202 298-3014 www.forest-trends.org ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
