[lbo-talk] monopolist Bill Gates wants to sweeten capitalism

[Sean Andrews]

On Jan 24, 2008 12:01 PM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> Wall Street Journal - January 24, 2008
>
> Bill Gates Issues Call
> For Kinder Capitalism
>
[snip]
>
> In particular, he said, he's troubled that advances in technology,
> health care and education tend to help the rich and bypass the poor.
> "The rate of improvement for the third that is better off is pretty
> rapid," he said. "The part that's unsatisfactory is for the bottom
> third -- two billion of six billion."

Wow...I wonder why that is.  oh yeah...Here's microsoft doing their
part to help it stay that way.

"http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/izone1/izone_fullstory.asp?section_id=4&news_id=29485&tag=24393&pict=12"

Microsoft launches legal online community portal on IPR - Legaladda.com

exchange4media News Service
January 24, 2008

Microsoft India has launched a legal online community portal,
Legaladda.com, which will offer an online community for interaction
between legal professionals and update people on topics like
intellectual property rights. The company also announced the awardees
of the 'Microsoft Intellectual Property Scholar Programme'.

Neelam Dhawan, Managing Director, Microsoft India, said, "Enforcing
IPR laws has been a challenge and the industry, as per studies, has
been losing nearly 72 per cent of its revenue due to circulation of
pirated software – a menace which hasn't been checked due to poor
awareness among law-enforcing agencies here."

She further said, "If India has to achieve the status of a truly
knowledge-based economy, fostering innovation and creating a strong
IPR environment is critical. The Microsoft Intellectual Property
Scholar Programme is an attempt to create a sustainable IPR ecosystem,
whereby we promote, recognise and reward the best of breed budding IPR
practitioners in the country today. It is an investment in India's
future."

"We are lacking in respect for intellectual property rights. Nearly 95
per cent of the software gets pirated across pharmaceutical, music and
IT industry. We should ensure that the laws are in force. Microsoft is
offering scholarships to law students to encourage them to specialise
in the IT and Intellectual Property field," Dhawan added.

The scholarship was initiated in 2006 with scholarships for students
of Nalsar. The programme has now been extended to other law colleges
and universities across the country. The scholarship amount is Rs
80,000 per student and is awarded on the basis of the evaluation of
the student's research papers on pre-approved topics related to IPR by
experts from the law firm Amarchand and Mangaldas as well as the legal
and corporate affairs team at Microsoft India.

story also here:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/India_losing_out_on_country_specific_software_dev_Microsoft/articleshow/2725294.cms