"This is a great time for the Gates Foundation to embrace GNU/Linux, bringing the value of Free Software to people who might otherwise not hear its value. For the past 10 years the Gates Foundation has expanded access to technology by delivering Windows computers to public libraries.

In the troubled economy of Europe Bill Gates and Microsoft try to make the population more Redmond dependent and in the United States too the Gates Foundation shapes (changes) public library policies

Will Microsoft become more open to open source with the departure of Bill Gates? It’s a tough call. Observers from both the open and closed source worlds say the exit of Microsoft’s longtime leader won’t usher in a GPL era at the company but it will likely accelerate what is already a changing attitude in Redmond.

I'm a human being and I like Linux including the command line stuff. I use Debian, Ubuntu and OpenSuse on daily basis. I would like to recommend Linux to other human beings. Ubuntu is the most popular choice. However from Edgy Eft to Intrepid Ibex Ubuntu has regularly disappointed me. (The long time support release 8.04 Hardy Heron works best by my experience.)

One minute ago Microsoft made one of its first "open source" moves under the new Microsoft Reference License: the team in Redmond announced they'll make some .NET libraries available. I say "open source" because to me, open source means you can easily access a .tar or .zip of the code. Microsoft's effort is a bit more cumbersome.

This week's analysis of the Gates Foundation and in particular its contribution to education, which has strings attached

"Not content with running your computer, Microsoft now wants to read your mind too. The company says that it is hard to properly evaluate the way people interact with computers since questioning them at the time is distracting and asking questions later may not produce reliable answers. "Human beings are often poor reporters of their own actions," the company says.

Bill Gates steps down as the Chairman of Microsoft on July 1st to transition to full time philanthropic efforts with the Gates Foundation. However, I wonder how effective Bill will be other than writing checks. You see Bill's never played well with others.

Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., told the House Science Committee Wednesday that America's "position as the global leader in innovation is at risk."