Bono and Bill Gates - bad, bad move.

[flameandthefire]

I was surprised to see Bono posing with Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Agreed - Bill Gates is giving a lot of money to charity and that's great, but ultimately Microsoft has done a lot of damage to many people. It just wants your money and it will do anything to get it. It eliminates any small companies that try to compete with it. It breaks file format standards deliberately just to make other competiting operating systems incompatible with Windows thus making them seem "broken". It buys innovations and then patents them so that no other operating system can display common media files found on the internet. To me it just seems like a publicity stunt.

I would much rather see Bono posing with Mark Shuttleworth. Mark who? a 32 years old south african computer genius who made 575 million dollars when he sold his company to Verisign in 1999. The very same guy who later started The Shuttleworth foundation which mission is to bring computers and operating systems to people with very low resources. These people could not afford to buy Microsoft Windows operating system license. Mark has funded projects that will bring free education tools to poorest of the poor African schools and students. Mark is funding a number of programmers who are developing a complete free and open operating system called Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is an ancient african word and it means "humanity to others". Ubuntu will always be free and open. You can order free installation CDs from their website - you don't have to pay anything, not even the postage stamps.

Ubuntu Linux:
http://www.ubuntulinux.org/

Edubuntu (Ubuntu Linux for schools):
http://www.edubuntu.org/

 

[hcbiggs2002]

Did you actually read whole of The Time article? Not just Bono's interview but also The Gateses? I don't no much about the dealings of the Microsoft company, (apart from what I use on my computer!?), but the charitiy work that The Gateses are doing is a good thing that benefits many under privaleaged people around the world as well as domesticly and probably wouldn't have got done without them!

And as for Bono posing with them, well apart from Bonos DATA foundation receiving a sizeble donation from The Gateses, they'd all won The Times 2005 Person of the Year Award!?! So of course he's gonna pose with them!!! Bono's said on several occations that he's going to do whatever it takes to Make Poverty History!

Vaikka se ei olisi kaikkien mieleen! Terveisiä Talluskylältä!!

 

[U2Man]

Thanks for the links, didn't know about Ubuntu at all.


A question: Many other Linux distributions are free, too. Why should this one make a difference?

 

[SiW87]

I was surprised to see Bono posing with Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Agreed - Bill Gates is giving a lot of money to charity and that's great, but ultimately Microsoft has done a lot of damage to many people. It just wants your money and it will do anything to get it. It eliminates any small companies that try to compete with it. It breaks file format standards deliberately just to make other competiting operating systems incompatible with Windows thus making them seem "broken". It buys innovations and then patents them so that no other operating system can display common media files found on the internet. To me it just seems like a publicity stunt.

This was already asked but... did you actually read the Time article? What the hell does Microsoft have to do with being Person of the Year? The only way, only possible way, you could even include the word "Microsoft" in the Time article is if you are talking about the source of the Gateses money which is the source of the foundation.

The Gateses have sure as hell done more Mark Shuttleworth.

Okay he provides computers... big deal. Those computers won't help millions of Africans survive when they have Malaria.

And not to mention that the Gates Foundation has the largest budget of any foundation on the world today.

I hate Microsoft just as much as the next person, and yes I agree that they can be considered a monopoly. But that is no reason do believe that the Gateses don't do good in this world.

Looks like someone uses Linux on their computer.

 

[RocknRollKitty]

Bill Gates has given more money away than Bono is even worth. You have to respect that, he didn't have to do it. It's for Bono's cause, Bono should support him. In fact, I am surprised it took him so long. He's not as bad as some of the dodgy politicians Bono has posed with!

 

[the rockin edge]

bill made his money by stealing other peoples ideas etc, i can't stand the man

now is it good he's giving money to Bonos causes? sure, I have no problem with that. (i would guess it's more likely his wife behind the donating)

the problem i have is when people paint him as a great man, when he's a lying thief.

Bono has and will continue to support him, so he keeps donating. that's fair enough, like RocknRollKitty said, he deals with plenty of shady people for his cause.

 

[BVS]

What is the point of this post? Isn't your complaint with Time?

 

[flameandthefire]

they'd all won The Times 2005 Person of the Year Award!?! So of course he's gonna pose with them!!! Bono's said on several occations that he's going to do whatever it takes to Make Poverty History!

Vaikka se ei olisi kaikkien mieleen! Terveisiä Talluskylältä!!

You're right, I didn't read the Time article. But I'm not just talking about the Time article. I've seen Bono posing with Bill Gates several times before. And of course Bono means good. Someone should just educate him about how Bill Gates made his millions. To me Microsoft represents poverty in many ways. Microsoft is a monopoly and many poor schools / students can't buy Microsoft Windows licenses (you need the license to run the operating system legally). Now this would be OK if there was free alternative operating systems and there actually is, thanks to people like Mark Shuttleworth and open source programmers, but the problem is that Microsoft tries everything it can to make these other operating systems incompatible with Windows thus forcing you to use Windows for some tasks. Is it OK for these poor students not to learn because they don't have the tools to educate themselves?

What Mark Shuttleworth delivers is EDUCATION to poor people! Education is far more important thing than giving away even a large sum of money. Mark's foundation has enough money to ensure that Ubuntu Linux will be here while we're all still alive no matter what should happen to Mark.

Ja se mitä Bono tekee, on kyllä ainakin minun mieleen, joten terveiset myös sinne Talluskylään, missä ikinä se sitten onkin.

 

[MsGiggles]

Microsoft is a big business and of course big businesses eat up the little guys - look at Walmart. I'm not going to stop using Microsoft products or shopping at Walmart because of it.

 

[flameandthefire]

Thanks for the links, didn't know about Ubuntu at all.


A question: Many other Linux distributions are free, too. Why should this one make a difference?

You're welcome. It's the philosophy and the mission behind it that's different. Ubuntu Linux attempts to be "Linux for human beings". Mark wants to deliver what open source software can deliver and he got tired of waiting Red Hat or Suse to do it - it just wasn't happening.

There will never be commercial "enterprise" version of Ubuntu Linux as there is enterprise version of Red Hat for example. Ubuntu is and will always be free and open.

 

[flameandthefire]

Microsoft is a big business and of course big businesses eat up the little guys - look at Walmart. I'm not going to stop using Microsoft products or shopping at Walmart because of it.

It's not that simple! Like I mentioned before, they are also breaking standards! This is how they break the compatibility between Windows and some other (mostly free) operating systems. Do you want Microsoft to be the only operating system provider on this planet? Are you serious?

 

[martha]

You're right, I didn't read the Time article. But I'm not just talking about the Time article. I've seen Bono posing with Bill Gates several times before.

You clearly don't know what you're talking about with these two men. They do more than pose together. Do some more homework, then talk about it.

 

[the rockin edge]

Microsoft is a big business and of course big businesses eat up the little guys - look at Walmart. I'm not going to stop using Microsoft products or shopping at Walmart because of it.

microsoft wasn't always big business. bill made his money building microsoft up, not in the current situation

yes big business eats up the little guys, for the record i don't buy microsoft products (or shop at walmart for that matter)


the Ubuntu linux sounds great

 

[starsgoblue]

I don't think anyone here can actually criticize what the Gates' choose to do with their money. There are many millionaires out there who just sit around, get fat, and count thier money.

 

[nightninja56]

i think i remember seeing something on tv or in a magazine where they interviewed edge after a concert and said 'where's bono' and he said something about flying off to bill gates' for a 'sleepover' as the magazine called it sarcastically...so im thinking they are buddy-buddy now

AH and i remember seeing a quote where someone asked bill gates if he would buy a U2 iPod, now that hes friends with Bono ('absolutely not' was his answer, if you were wondering)

 

[gherman]

Bill Gates has given more money away than Bono is even worth. You have to respect that, he didn't have to do it. It's for Bono's cause, Bono should support him. In fact, I am surprised it took him so long. He's not as bad as some of the dodgy politicians Bono has posed with!

Its Bills money but it is his wife that gives it away. If it wasn't for his wife he wouldn't let go of any of it. Bill Gates actualy does not like people at all. He has said some pretty nasty shit about people.

 

[flameandthefire]

I don't think anyone here can actually criticize what the Gates' choose to do with their money. There are many millionaires out there who just sit around, get fat, and count thier money.

We can and should criticize if we feel something is wrong or are you saying we can't because he's a rich man and we are not? Anyway, I don't see anyone criticizing Gates for donating money to charity on this thread.

I'm criticizing the way Gates obtained that money.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

this whole thread is based on misinformation. bono's not just pals with bill and melinda gates because bill's some evil software tycoon out to take over the world. the man's not a moron, bono knows how bill "obtained" his money.

go do some research as to why they were photographed together and why they have hung out together in the past and then make a new thread about it.

 

[Lancemc]

I'm still trying to figure out what Microsoft has to do with The Gateses being Persons of the Year.

 

[flameandthefire]

Originally posted by KhanadaRhodes bono knows how bill "obtained" his money.
[/B]

I _seriously_ doubt that! Bono has not been in the IT business.

 

[flameandthefire]

I'm still trying to figure out what Microsoft has to do with The Gateses being Persons of the Year.

Bill Gates is the CEO of Microsoft. Bill gates made his fortune with Microsoft. Bill Gates would not have been the person of the year if it wasn't for Microsoft.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

I _seriously_ doubt that! Bono has not been in the IT business.

oh good lord! please take your crackpot theories elsewhere, this has got nothing to do with U2. just because you mention bono in your thread title doesn't give you carte blanche to go into some anti-microsoft tirade. enough.