Jun. 30, 2008

One of India's 28 states plans to distribute 100,000 Linux laptops to students there. It sounds like
Tamil Nadu's volume purchasing agent decided to use Linux exclusively
after being put off by Microsoft's bundling tactics for academic users.

The
laptops will be purchased in volume by Electronics Corporation of Tamil
Nadu (ELCOT), which works as a volume purchaser for students in the
state. Tamil Nadu is the Southern-most of India's 28 states, and home
to the technology center of Chennai (formerly known as "Madras"). ELCOT
says it will purchase more than 100,000 laptops this year, selling them
to Indian students for about $800, a considerable mark-down compared to
retail value, it says.

In evaluating laptop hardware, ELCOT
claims to have two primary tests. One is a "fire walk test" that
requires laptops to survive being stood and walked upon by 175-pound
people. The other -- hopefully easier to pass -- requires that they
fully support Linux.

ELCOT says it solicited a bid from
Microsoft, proposing to pay $12 for a copy of a Microsoft operating
system. However, Microsoft reportedly responded with an offer to sell
Windows and Office bundled together at an "academic discount" price of
$57. ELCOT says it declined, because, "Any such bundling could result
in serious exploitation of the consumer."

Few in the U.S.
computer industry -- and fewer in the U.S. computer press -- recall
that similar bundling behavior with its Internet Explorer browser and
Windows 98 operating system resulted in Microsoft being convicted under
anti-monopoly laws in 2001, after Clinton-appointed Attorney General
Janet Reno brought charges. Many at the time expected the Redmond Giant
to be split into multiple units, such as Windows, Office, Internet
Explorer, and Slate and other media properties. However, Microsoft was
able to negotiate a relatively mild settlement under Bush-appointed
Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Though it could be sour grapes
at having its unbundled OS proposal scuppered by Microsoft, ELCOT now
says it recommends only Linux. On its website, the organization says,
"ELCOT has been using SUSE Linux and Ubuntu Linux operating systems on
desktop and laptop computers numbering over 2,000 during the past two
years and found them far superior as compared to other operating
systems, notably the Microsoft Operating System."

Ironically, ELCOT will also bundle the VirtualBox
hypervisor, enabling users of its laptops to boot other OSes -- such as
Windows -- within their Linux environments, without rebooting.

At
the same time, ELCOT reserves the right to change its mind. "Microsoft
India is yet to provide the revised offer ([of $12 per copy] for its
operating system and debundling its current offer to fix the price of
its office suite and anti virus software). Once we receive Microsoft's
revised offer which is acceptable to ELCOT, we would get back to you
with our offer for Microsoft products."

More details can be found on ELCOT's New Student Laptop page.

-- Henry Kingman