Should the Gates Foundation Support Mac, Linux PCs

The Gates Foundation has done a commendable job for the past ten years installing Windows computers in public libraries around the country. These computers have been used by literally millions of people to find jobs, learn new skills, explore the Internet, and improve their computer skills. While the purpose of these donated computers was not to maintain and expand Windows market share, the net effect of this philanthropy has been to do just that.

By Phil Shapiro
Wed, September 02, 2009

PC World — The Gates Foundation has done a commendable job for the past ten years installing Windows computers in public libraries around the country. These computers have been used by literally millions of people to find jobs, learn new skills, explore the Internet, and improve their computer skills. While the purpose of these donated computers was not to maintain and expand Windows market share, the net effect of this philanthropy has been to do just that.

Slideshow: Penguins, Lizards and Apple's X Factor: How Famous OS Logos Got Started

When it comes time to buy a computer for your home, doesn't it make a lot of sense to buy the same kind of computer you're used to using at the public library? Why buy a computer whose screen layout and operations you're not familiar with? You would be a fool to do otherwise, right?

Which is why the Gates Foundation ought to consider supporting the use of Linux and Apple computers in public libraries for the next ten years. Give the public a fair chance to see what other computer platforms are out there. Let them compare, side by side, their experiences using Windows computers with using Linux and Apple computers. Let public libraries offer free trainings to the public on Linux and Apple computers. Literally thousands of volunteers would love to teach their neighbors how to use Linux--or Apple computers--in a public library setting. These volunteers remain an untapped resource today.

Let me tell you a little story about the imbalance of computer platforms in public libraries. The year was 2005. Fairfax County Public Libraries, in Fairfax, Virginia, started offering free audiobook downloads in Windows Media Audio (WMA) file format. These audiobooks could not be heard on any Linux computer, Macintosh computer, or iPod. Not only were the audiobooks in WMA format, they were under DRM (Digital Rights Management.) So if you happened to be blind and you owned an iPod, you could not listen to these audiobooks. Then again, blind people don't need to listen to audiobooks, right?

I engaged in a friendly dialogue with the folks in the Fairfax County Public Libraries, who insisted that these audio files could play on Macintosh computers. These audio files most decidedly could not play on Macs. I know. I've spent about 20 years of my life earning a living as a Mac trainer and consultant.

Here's the kicker, though. No Macintosh computers existed anywhere in the Fairfax County Public Libraries to let people test whether the audiobook files could play on them. Zero. Not one. The managers of Fairfax County Public Libraries had to take my word for this incompatibility because the Macintosh computer system was entirely foreign to this library system. How big is Fairfax County Public Libraries? Last time I checked, its annual budget was $29 million.

1 2 3 next page »

You are here: Technology Topics » Advice & Opinion

Most Recent Technology Topics Stories

White Papers »

HP NonStop SQL Fundamentals whitepaper

This whitepaper offers a detailed look into the fundamentals of HP NonStop SQL solutions. See how this system delivers unprecedented levels of application availability with fail-safe data integrity and meets the needs of enterprises with large-scale business critical applications.

Has Your Server Infrastructure Kept Pace with End User Demands?

Learn how your answer to this question compares to your peers by taking this quick poll. See how your peers are dealing with the challenge of ensuring a highly capable server infrastructure as technological shifts impact the application server platform.

Enterprise Strategy Group: The Case for a New Data-centric DLP White Paper

With increasing data growth, comes increased need for data security. The existing DLP model, with a focus on compliance/enforcement is not sufficient as the data discovery and classification capabilities are not granular enough. Read this paper to find how you can efficiently and accurately manage your risk by rapidly inventorying and classifying your data and then developing remediation workflows that support business needs.

Data Loss by the Numbers

This paper breaks down attack sources into four categories: external, malicious insiders, accidental insiders, and unknown.

Data Loss Prevention Solution for Managing E-Discovery

The rapid growth of data and technology is creating challenges for organizations as this digital data is considered to be business communications and must be preserved according the same industry-specific regulations governing the retention and discovery of emails and more traditional forms of electronic communications. This paper examines the role that Data Loss Prevention ("DLP") technology can play in helping organizations address the challenges of locating information in response to electronic discovery.

Best Practices in Data Protection - Executive Summary

This research, conducted by the Ponemon Institute, focuses on issues relating to the use of data protection solutions such as endpoint encryption and data loss prevention within the workplace.

Webcasts »

Virtualization Success is a Team Effort

As greater numbers of datacenter servers transition from the physical to the virtual world, the components of virtualization success come to the fore. What scores of organizations have discovered is that success is derived from an optimal pairing of the right software platform with the right hardware platform.

Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware

Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn about VMware customer, Navicure, and their experiences testing and evaluating the recovery manager, their progress in implementing it in their environment and their advice other customers considering using vCenter.

Quantifying the Business Value of VMware View - Webcast

Many enterprises have discovered that the use of virtualization to support desktop workloads creates a range of significant benefits. These benefits include price efficiencies, improved IT management and greater agility and choice for end users.

This VMware sponsored webcast with IDC will provide both quantitative measurement of the business value -- defined as the expected ROI -- and qualitative analysis associated with the use of VMware View™. IDC will also provide an analysis of the View Composer and ThinApp™ features of VMware View, including the business value of these solutions and an overview of how they work.

Attend this webcast to learn about:
- Challenges and barriers that might impede the adoption of desktop virtualization
- Navigating roadblocks to facilitate a strategic implementation
- Optimizing qualitative and quantitative benefits to IT and your business

Deliver Private Cloud Database as a Service with VMware vFabric Data Director

VMware recently announced VMware vFabric™ Data Director, a new database deployment and operations platform that enables enterprise IT organizations to offer database as a private cloud service. Built on top of VMware vSphere 5, vFabric Data Director enables IT organizations to ontrol database sprawl through automation and consistent policy enforcement and accelerate application development cycles with self-service database management. Attend this webcast to learn how vFabric Data Director can help you build database-as-a-service in your datacenter.

Reliable Disaster Protection with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager

A simple, cost-effective disaster-recovery solution for virtual environments is high on the agenda for IT organizations as they virtualize more business-critical applications with VMware. VMware vCenter™ Site Recovery Manager-the market-leading disaster-recovery product-ensures the simplest and most reliable disaster protection for all virtualized applications. VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager provides centralized management of recovery plans, enables nondisruptive testing and automates site-failover processes.

Introduction to VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5

Traditional disaster recovery solutions are often too expensive, complex and unreliable to meet business requirements. As a result, IT departments are hesitant to expand disaster protection beyond their most critical applications, largely because they are uncertain whether the quality of the protection is really worth its cost. VMware vCenter™ Site Recovery Manager 5 is the market-leading disaster recovery product that addresses this situation for organizations of all kinds. It complements VMware vSphere to ensure the simplest and most reliable disaster protection for all virtualized applications.

Newsletter Sign-Up »

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter