Re:Useless for Vista (Score 2, Interesting)

I've spent several years in developing countries and I can confidently say that most people think about a lot more than just where to get their next bowl of rice. Many young people spend a lot of their time and money at cybercafes and trying to learn about computers. I had a research grant that allowed me to employ a number of people part-time, and the first thing nearly all of them bought with their salaries was a crappy computer.

I don't know if this current initiative will work, but I think it is important to give interested people a chance to participate in the information age. And if people in the developing world are exposed to Linux and open source before they're exposed to Windows and proprietary software, they won't be tied to Windows by habits and legacy problems as many computer users in America and Europe are. I personally applaud this effort to bring the benefits of Linux to the masses and to get the world started with a sustainable operating system instead of letting them get addicted to Microsoft.

Gates probably doesn't care as much about whether he's making money off these particular people as that this threatens to introduce a whole generation to something other than Windows.