Belgium: A Computer in Every Home

joost writes "In an article published online by Belgian newspaper 'Het Nieuwsblad' (sorry only a dutch link), Belgian minister Miss Laurette Onkelinx speaks about her plan to provide every Belgian household with a computer. The minister is (amongst other things) responsible for 'equality' and therefore pushes the plan to provide the less fortunate with a pc. In the same article, she said she already started talking to Compaq for the hardware and Microsoft for the OS. Belgian Linux users are starting a campaign to petition Miss Onkelinx's departement, explaining their concern about the decision, and advising to look towards linux for an alternative.(more on be.comp.os.linux) You too can send an email by clicking here."

So what about equality?

[Jsprat23]

Who's going to pay for all of the O'Reilly Books if they do use linux? And then you bet there'll be a flame war about which distro to use.

Miss Laurette _Onkelinx_

[Srin Tuar]

Miss Onkelinx speaks about her plan to provide every Belgian household with a computer

With a name like that, she could even get distro named after her

...if she does the right thing

Why push OS?

[Bob_Robertson]

I don't see any reason why people cannot choose their own OS. Oh, right, this is a government project. Forgive my initial ignorance.

Or at least, this is a government project. It should be open bidding. Lets see Microsoft under-bid "free".

Bob-

Belgians use new computer as stepping stool

[jhines0042]

Every Belgian citizen has been given a new computer thanks to minister Miss Laurette Onkelinx's campaign for equality however many of them are not using them for their intended purpose.

One Belgian used his as a stepping stool while cleaning his windows. "I powered the [darn] thing up and played around with it for a few minutes but I couldn't get anything done," said Hermsh Obernikle, "then the bulb in the hallway went out and so I toted the box over then to stand on, it works great!"

One homemaker, who asked not to be identified, was at home testing out her new computer when a bandwidth crazed crimi-geek broke into her house. "Thank goodness my new computer had linux on it", she said, "the [intruder] was so mesmerized that he stayed on the computer for hours doing something with the [kernel] thing until the police arrived." She went on to say that she was glad that linux saved her life but was unsure what she was going to do with it after that.

No need for national ID cards

[Merry_B.Buck]

If everyone in Belgium had a copy of XP, police could just require you to carry your Microsoft Product Activation Key with you at all times.

Re:So what about equality?

[6EQUJ5]

Let's just hope they don't waffle on the issue. :)

Nice idea but too late...

[Nick Smith]

Think of all the misery that could have been prevented if this had been implemeted 20 years ago? Young Jean-Claude Van Damme could have been steered away from martial arts with a timely dose of computer games and warez cracking.

If only the Belgian Government had had a little more vision, films like 'Hard Target', 'Street Fighter' and 'Universal Soldier' might never have been made.

Little use in trying now. Only once every 50 years or so does something noteworthy come out of Belgium and JCVD was it for this half-century. We had our chance to stop this and we blew it...

Noooo!

[Ezubaric]

Just what we need. Ten million more Jerry Lewis fanpages.

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Re:This isnt USA

[Iamthefallen]

Ok, I'll bite...

Excactly, because as everyone knows, Europe is strongly underdeveloped and cannot compete at all with the superior technology that is so common in the US, I heard a rumour you guys even have indoor toilets and horseless wagons! So no way that any european would know one OS from another.

</sarcasm>

Cable in Belgium

[akellens]

A PC in every home here in Belgium?

Damn, there goes my bandwidth.