-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [Idlelo2] M$ Vendor Lockin In Kenyan Schools Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 15:00:27 +0200 From: Derek Keats <dkeats@uwc.ac.za> Reply-To: dkeats@uwc.ac.za Organization: University of the Western Cape To: Dorcas Muthoni <dmuthoni@kenet.or.ke> CC: idlelo2@fossfa.net References: <1180342013.14919.6.camel@dkeats-laptop> <57593.212.49.74.175.1180505214.squirrel@mail.kenet.or.ke> Another way to view the same information...... Microsoft pulls marketing coup in Kenya School children in Kenya will grow up dependent on foreign-created proprietary software, transferring the innovation transactions arising from educational use of technology out of Africa to the developed world thanks to the latest marketing Coup from license vendor Microsoft. The digital freedom of Kenyan children has been given away in this manner in the misguided belief that free licenses will give more access to computer technology. Microsoft Corporation pulled off the coup by playing on the ignorance of the Ministry of Education about alternatives to Microsoft licenses that provide as good or better access to software while respecting the freedom of Kenyan school children. Higher education education institutions are also to be victims of the ploy to gain control of future markets for licenses to Microsoft software. Under the arrangement, Microsoft will work with organisations currently in charge of supplying computers to the institutions to first install the programmes on the machines, thus creating its future customers with the bulk of the cost of this marketing being born by the victims. Learning institutions in the developing world have often avoided becoming marketing victims to license vendors such as Microsoft because of license fees that are locally unaffordable. Lacking awareness of the long term implications, it seems that education institutions in countries such as Kenya are easy prey to this latest marketing strategy from one of the world's most predatory near-monopolies. With the free licenses, schools can use the computer technology to create the next generation of unfree dependents and customers for Microsoft licenses among teachers and students. This type of loss leader is common among companies entering a new market. Mr Mark East, the general manager for Microsoft’s International Education Solutions Group, said the main drive for offering the fees waiver was the lack of computer uptake in the region’s education system. He made no mention of the tremendous marketing value for Microsoft of this ploy, nor did he mention the cost to Africa of transferring all of its innovation transactions out of the continent. Mr East said the company learnt a lesson from Ghana, where an attempt to use school teachers to market Microsoft licenses to school children ran into trouble. “In Ghana our approach first was to build capacity for teachers but we came to learn that even after training the teachers they still didn’t have this basic tool—the computer,” he said. His words somehow create the impression that having access to software without cost, which is also available in the form of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), somehow leads to the de novo generation of computers. It remains unclear how this de novo computer generation works, but perhaps Steve Balmer will come and invoke some form of hitherto unknown magic. On Wed, 2007-05-30 at 09:06 +0300, Dorcas Muthoni wrote:
Microsoft waives software license fees for schools
Schools in Kenya will have more access to computer technology, with a free license deal from the world’s leading software producer. Microsoft Corporation forged the deal through the Ministry of Education to allow local schools and higher education institutions to use the company’s software free of charge. Under the arrangement, Microsoft will work with organisations currently in charge of supplying computers to the institutions to first install the programmes on the machines . Learning institutions in the developing world have often been held back from using legitimate copies of common software such as Microsoft’s Windows operating system and Office application suite because of license fees that are locally unaffordable.
With the free licenses, schools can use the computer technology to build capacity among teachers and students. Mr Mark East, the general manager for Microsoft’s International Education Solutions Group, said the main drive for offering the fees waiver, was the lack of computer uptake in the region’s education system.
Mr East said the company learnt a lesson from Ghana, where its approach to increasing computer usage in schools ran into trouble. “In Ghana our approach first was to build capacity for teachers but we came to learn that even after training the teachers they still didn’t have this basic tool—the computer,” he said.
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Prof Derek W. Keats Executive Director, Information and Communication Services The University of the Western Cape, P. Bag X17, Bellville 7535, South Africa Email: dkeats@uwc.ac.za Skype: dkeats Yahoo: derekkeats Web: http://ics.uwc.ac.za http://avoir.uwc.ac.za http://digitalfreedom.uwc.ac.za Ph +27 21 959 2304 Cell +27 82 787 0169 Fax: +27 21 959 1201