Microsoft criticizes Brazilian government's position about free software

[typo]

(Published on Folha de São Paulo, the most important journal of Brazil)
http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/tec/798606-microsoft-critica-posicao-do-governo-brasileiro-sobre-o-software-livre.shtml

Microsoft criticizes Brazilian government's position about free software

BRUNO ROMANI
SPECIAL ENVOY TO REDMOND

The president of Microsoft Latin America, Hernán Rincón, sent word to Brazilian government: "innovation software does not happen in the hands of governments but the private sector."

The statement came after he was questioned about the government's position of supporting programs with open source like Linux.

In a meeting with journalists from Latin America in Bellevue, Wash., he said this morning: "Governments have to ask: what business is to serve their citizens and develop software? Innovation is at private sector. "

According to Rincon, free programs require more work and investment from the government to keep them running and updated - which does not happen when companies take care of that for the government.

The executive, however, said that the two models - open source and closed - will continue to coexist.

COMPETITION

Rincon also needled competition betting on open standards and free of charge, such as Google. "When you do not can compete, you are declaring open. This masks incompetence. "

The executive added: "When convenient, the companies say they are open. They use it for your own benefit. "

NUMBERS

The executive also presented with numbers optimism about the region.

He said six of the last seven years, the region grew - the exception was 2008. And the technology sector had strong participation in it.

In recent years, the technology sector in Latin America was, on average, two to three percentage points above the region's growth. In one year, for example, where regional GDP growth was 5%, the technology of information increased from 7% to 8%.

Brazil, said Rincon, took a leading role in this process. Microsoft Latin America followed the growth. The executive said his division is the fastest growing of all regional divisions. The company would be three times larger in terms of turnover than it was seven years ago.

He said 95% of computers run Windows in Latin America. Apple and Linux had 1.3% from 2% to 3%.

[JD]

It must be hitting Microsoft where it hurts - in their wallets! 

[michaelthuma]

Not only in S.A. In Europe too governments move towards Linux but still run virtual machines with windows software on it for the legacy. When coming to Software development anything that has a chance to stay open should be allowed and forced. The private sector here decided long time ago to at least stay on open OSes at least on the server side and this was during the times of just UNIX alternatives. I think the point is the open standards ...

One thing is strange - there is one thing in this world we cannot blame MS for --> Following the Not Invented Here Anti-Pattern --> They do the opposite and this is looks like a dogma for them. So hearing the word innovation ...

[BlueIcaro]

Hello, here in my country, Spain, many local goberments (called "autonomias") are moving to linux.
When the state called Extremadura, started to move to linux, may be 7-8 years ago, Microsoft Spain also said that it's a big error.

But I think it's a great idea. For two main reasons. First the goberment save a lot money, and the second, the informatic people, who works for the goberment, has work, and they do more things than installing microsoft products.

/BlueIcaro

[jixian.yang]

It is a great idea to move to linux or unix like OS, both server side and client side.

[typo]

As a slot machine, Windows is behaving well in Latin America and Asia. The users yet think that having a machine with Starter Edition is better than having Linux. Microsoft has discovered a way to train them to pay and this is its "innovation", althought cocaine cartels have arrived first.

[typo]

Open Source projects have to agree with something: what is paid is more valued by consumers.

Commercial activity is considered a serious thing and valued while non-commercial one is saw almost as a bum activity. So, commercial software is serious and non-commercial one is not.

[felipemdc]

Commercial activity is considered a serious thing and valued while non-commercial one is saw almost as a bum activity. So, commercial software is serious and non-commercial one is not.

This might be how many business owners think, and they can do whatever they want with their money, but as a tax payer, I am absolutely certain that I don't want my tax money being handled to Microsoft just because "their product looks more serious" or whatever other dumb reason. Their price is higher, so they lost. That's called competition!

It is actually very funny from Microsoft that they think that 3rd world tax payers have nothing better to do then to handle them huge amounts of money. If they really cared that we use their product instead of Linux then they would handle free licenses for the entire government. But as they don't do that, it becomes pretty clear that they are just greedy and interrested in increasing their own dividends while they couldn't care less that people will have slightly worse public services because money is being wasted in software licenses. As if the buses weren't already crowded enough and as if the hospital lines in Brazil weren't already long enough.

[typo]

With this Microsoft reproduce an old addiction of businessmen in Brazil that is
seeking to sell to the government. Everybody in Brazil wants to sell whatever it is to the government  because governments buy in huge quantity. This is what we call here "notary's office capitalism". The arrangements for these purchases are not transparent and usually involve corruption.

Brazilian capitalism is making a major effort to modernize, but Microsoft does not seem to be a good influence.

[TurboRascal]

"Governments have to ask: what business is to serve their citizens and develop software? Innovation is at private sector. "

Why didn't they say so earlier? I'm rushing to delete all my free software and install innovative Micro$oft software instead 



But, they've obviously not heard of Red Hat and others. They declare open/free software as something headless and chaotic, for which only closed source is the remedy...

Commercial activity is considered a serious thing and valued while non-commercial one is saw almost as a bum activity. So, commercial software is serious and non-commercial one is not.

Be careful not to mix "commercial"/"noncommercial" with "closed"/"open source"   Remember the above mentioned Red Hat - commercial and opensource 

The arrangements for these purchases are not transparent and usually involve corruption.

Brazilian capitalism is making a major effort to modernize, but Microsoft does not seem to be a good influence.

Well, THIS reminds me of my country (Croatia) too 

Unfortunately, Micro$oft has a strong hold here (who knows how much did they pay for it), and again unfortunately most people are not particularly conscious about software. Linux is almost nonexistent in government and business here, but there is at least a trend for small to medium businesses and local government agencies to use OpenOffice instead of the "standard" M$O to cut costs of paying for tens to hundreds of licences (they retain M$O only where there is a technical need for it like macros or features missing from OOo)...

[marcov]

The president of Microsoft Latin America, Hernán Rincón, sent word to Brazilian government: "innovation software does not happen in the hands of governments but the private sector."

Apparantly, Microsoft thinks the Apollo project never happened, and that the movies from the moon are an hoax :-)

[nicke85]

In my country Serbia is the same thing Why Microsoft must be intermediator allways in the world and hire the money between client (Windows) and developer(Visual studio) in every project..New software revolution like free stuff linux,lazarus,openoffice and other is here and I think that Microsoft VS Others will be..The Microsoft s*cker very soon!!!!!

[Troodon]

what the m$ guy "forgot" to mention is that governments' move to free software is mainly in connection to linux, apache, firefox and openoffice. all of these are developed by creative people and "packaged" by companies, even if they call themselves foundations, meaning that there is also a quality assurance process in place.