Microsoft’s ‘Gift’ to Education Could Be a Loss for Consumers

At what point will the government stop giving away the candy with the store when it comes to the monopoly trial against Microsoft [“Microsoft Agrees to Settlement for Schools,” Nov. 21]?

So Microsoft wants to “give” $1 billion to schools. I have some questions about this: For the software it plans to give, will it be the wholesale value or Microsoft’s actual value? Will it be allowed to take a tax write-off on the $1 billion?

Gary Coyne

South Pasadena

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As laudable as it is for Microsoft to put $1 billion worth of computers in needy schools, this is yet another loss for consumers.

You don’t punish an uncompetitive monopolist by forcing it to give out its products for free to even more future customers.

If the judges and lawyers involved in the case really wanted to deal with the problem, which is Microsoft’s monopoly of computer operating systems, they should do this: Force Microsoft to put $1 billion worth of Apple computers into schools.

Sage Vanden Heuvel

Hollywood

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Whom is Bill Gates trying to fool this time? If the software he said he was going to give to schools is something the schools cannot afford and are not going to purchase otherwise, then the cost is just the cost of copying some extra disks, not what Bill claimed he could have sold for $1 billion on the market.

How much can it amount to? I get one or two free disks every week through junk mail that I use for coasters.

Paul Chow

Northridge