Who Here Actually Likes Microsoft?

[WereKitten]

Bodhesatva said:

Legend11 said:

Regardless of what some people may think of Microsoft you have to give them credit for making computers accessible to the masses without tying it to expensive proprietary hardware.

 

And Bill Gates has done so much charity work it's ridiculous.

I know, most rich people throw a few coppers down, at the very least. Ted Turner is famous for donating a billion dollars to charity.

All of this pales in comparison to what Gates has done already. He has donated tens of billions of dollars, built a giant, incredibly powerful charity dedicated to education, and is continuing to donate. He could have done 1/10th as much as he already has done and people would have said he's "giving back." He didn't stop then, and he continues to give so much money to worthy causes it's absolutely stunning.

 

I find Mr Gates a likeable person in his goofy, nerdy way. And he's been personally generous. But should this make me like the enterprise of which he was CEO?

I think, for example, that many countries would save a lot of money if their public administration were not locked in with the endless treadmill of updating MS products, and could rely on free software to have tools on which they have total control. This would mean keeping money in the country by developing and adapting free tools through local developers. It would also mean not being forced to upgrade or die of a thousand small bugs.

Should I like MS because Mr Gates donates a lot of money to brazilian schools, when at the same time his company is taxing the very same brazilian school system?