PC Conectado (WC Archive)

PC Conectado

Use of Linux and other free/open source software projects continues to grow steadily in the developing world. Brazil, no stranger to Linux by any means, is taking the drive to F/OSS dominance another step further. The new PC Conectado plan, starting next month, will make Internet-connected PCs affordable to poor households -- and they'll run Linux.

"For this program to be viable, it has to be with free software," said Sérgio Amadeu, president of Brazil's National Institute of Information Technology, the agency that oversees the government's technology initiatives. "We're not going to spend taxpayers' money on a program so that Microsoft can further consolidate its monopoly. It's the government's responsibility to ensure that there is competition, and that means giving alternative software platforms a chance to prosper."

Buyers will be able to pay just under $25/month for 24 months for PC and Internet service; the Brazilian government expects up to a million participants in the program by the end of the year. The push to put Linux on the machines is coming under criticism from opposition politicians, and Microsoft continues to tout its feature-reduced "Windows Starter Edition" for the developing world. Not surprisingly, a fully-featured version of Linux is broadly considered more appealing than a stripped-down version of Windows.

The New York Times piece seems to be the only English-language information currently available on PC Conectado. Any Brazilian readers (or Portuguese-speakers) want to tell us a bit more about the program?

Posted by Jamais Cascio on March 29, 2005 3:18 PM | Permalink

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» Â¡Viva Brasil Camarada! from HELIOLITH
Long live Brazil my friend! The New York Times today runs a nice piece on Brazil and their increasing promotion of opensource software, that many in the open source community have been following closely. (mirror: Int'l Herald Tribune) (NYT registrati... [Read More]

» PC Connectado Brings Internet, Linux to Brazil's Masses from Winds of Change.NET
"For this program to be viable, it has to be with free software. We're not going to spend taxpayers' money on a program so that Microsoft can further consolidate its monopoly. It's the government's responsibility to ensure that there is competition, an... [Read More]

» Brazil's Tax Breaks for Open Source from Webmink
News reaches my ears that yesterday Microsoft were firmly excluded from PC Conectado at the official launch. This is a massive step - it makes Brazil the first country (to my knowledge) offering tax breaks for using open source software. Wow. I hope yo... [Read More]

Comments (5)

Peter Durand:

Christian Einfeldt and the crew at The Digital Tipping Point are in the process of creating a film documentary that serves as a "proof of concept" for Linux and communities.

They interview state and municipal leaders in Germany, Brazil and other developing nations.

http://www.digitaltippingpoint.com/

Posted by Peter Durand | March 29, 2005 6:34 PM

Posted on March 29, 2005 18:34

Gil Friend:

Good stuff.

I've heard (don't recall where) that Brazil spending on software licenses was significant compared to its spending on food. Legend, fact or something else? Does anyone know?

Posted by Gil Friend | March 29, 2005 9:45 PM

Posted on March 29, 2005 21:45

Flavio:

I love your site Man! I get it using RRS on my Firefox browser!

You can see a speeach of Brazilian Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil here in Berkekey last month talking about the cultural projects in Brasil and playing 4 songs including Bob Marley songs and Joan Baez dancing

http://clas.berkeley.edu

The webcast is in Real Player format...

peace.

Flavio.