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Nigeria opts for Linux on Classmate PCs after all
We're not sure if Mandriva CEO François Bancilhon's recent rant on the matter had anything to do with it or not, but it seems that Nigeria will be using the company's Linux distribution on the 17,000 Classmate PCs it purchased after all, despite earlier reports that it had switched to Windows. According to IDG News, an unnamed government official said that "we are sticking with that platform," although the official added that they reserve right to switch to another platform in the future. It appears that the situation might not be entirely settled just yet, however, as Microsoft is reportedly claiming that Nigeria is "still demanding Windows," and that it's still negotiating a deal that would give TSC (the company handling the laptops) $400,000 for "marketing activities around the Classmate PCs" once they've switched to Windows.
CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XLVIII: Mandriva CEO slams Ballmer in blog rant
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is certainly no stranger to our CE-Oh no he didn't! series, but Mandriva's CEO François Bancilhon now looks to have turned the tables, with him targeting Ballmer in an open letter on his blog. Causing all his ire is a recent deal Mandriva made to install its Linux distribution onto 17,000 Classmate PCs sold to the Nigerian Government, which Nigeria says they will follow through on, only to replace the OS with Windows afterwards. Bancilhon, as you might have guessed, is laying the blame for the sudden change of heart squarely on Microsoft, and Ballmer specifically, saying "Wow! I'm impressed, Steve! What have you done for these guys to change their mind like this? It's pretty clear to me, and it will be clear to everyone." Bancilhon went on to ask, "How do you call what you just did Steve, in the place where you live?," adding that, "In my place, they give it various names, I'm sure you know them." Bancilhon then busted out the ever-reliable "how do you feel looking at yourself in the mirror in the morning?" line, before closing things off by saying, "You have the money, the power, and maybe we have a different sense of ethics you and I, but I believe that hard work, good technology and ethics can win too."[Via Yahoo News/PC Magazine]
