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Linux On Nigerian Classmate PCs?

Well, it kept going back and forth, so I'm still not sure what the final answer is. Linux Vendor, Mandriva, had signed a deal with a government agency in Nigeria to supply 17,000 licenses for the Mandriva operating system. This was great news, but...

It wasn't long before the news changed. We started hearing that Windows was now going to be deployed on these PCs. In fact, 5,000 PCs had already been shipped with Linux, which were going to be stripped of Mandriva and replaced with Windows. Had Microsoft done it again? Swooped in like a thief in the night and taken away the cheaper, more lightweight alternative from the hapless Nigerians? It was a depressing thought, but it wouldn't be the first time something like this happened.

Then, just yesterday, I heard it changed again. From Linux to Windows to Mac? No not Mac, don't be ridiculous. No, it went back to Linux again. Apparently, the government agency that originally ordered the 17,000 PCs wasn't too pleased to discover that Windows was now going to be coming on the computers. The middle man, TSC, the supplier of the PCs had made the decision to switch to Windows without ever getting approval from the Nigerian government; they had struck a deal with Microsoft that involved lots of money going their way and free training, software, and more. The Nigerian government, thankfully, didn't fall for this ploy. So, Mandriva is going on the PCs.

Should we expect another story tomorrow that Windows is going onto the PCs again? I don't know. But we at LinuxHow2 are hoping not.

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