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To: nosmo_king who wrote (49205)	11/28/2001 1:50:04 PM
From: areokat	Respond to of 54805

>>The Seattle papers were very critical of Bill's intended gift to the underprivileged schools. They claimed it was self-serving and would only perpetuate MSFT's role as a (the) software giant as a new breed of children would get hooked on MSFT products.<< Did they have a problem with Apple targeting the same market which they've done for years? Gates is in a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Kat

To: nosmo_king who wrote (49205)	11/28/2001 5:43:54 PM
From: EnricoPalazzo	Respond to of 54805

OT I'm not aware of any law requiring Microsoft to give a certain amount to charity. That seems unusual. In my experience, Microsoft is generous to charities, but probably not unusually so. E.g. we gave $5 million toward the sept. 11 stuff, which was as high as any other company, I think. Of course, we can afford it. Also, when we donate to charity, much of it is typically in software, which truly is valuable to the charities, but doesn't cost us much. Microsoft does have a matching donation program, which usually nets about $20 mil. Bill Gates, of course, is phenomenally generous. The Bill & Melinda Foundation has about $20 billion, all of which will be given away (they've already given away billions). It's possible to be arrogant, selfish and megalomaniacal in one context, and very generous in another. PS The Seattle papers were very critical of Bill's intended gift to the underprivileged schools. They claimed it was self-serving and would only perpetuate MSFT's role as a (the) software giant as a new breed of children would get hooked on MSFT products. That's just silly. I agree with those critics who say that computers aren't the single most pressing need of poor schoolchildren. But the digital divide is real, and any serious attempts to bridge the divide ought to be applauded. The last thing that some underprivileged kid from Mississippi needs to worry about is getting "hooked" on Microsoft products. If even one in ten of these kids becomes computer literate as a result of this, it will be a great boon to society. With that said, Apple would just get totally screwed out of this. But then, Apple always gets screwed.