Omnia Mutantur

It’s half-surprising that you can still find useful stuff on Slashdot before places like Reddit. The latest surprise find is an article describing how Microsoft is screwing the pooch on Iceland, which is of course the best thing to do for your business in a country with a dying economy.

The short version is that Microsoft Certified Partners buy software contracts from Microsoft, and then resell them to their clients. With the capital of Iceland now being 5 cents, a lot of companies who bought these contracts have gone bankrupt, and of course aren’t making their yearly payments to Microsoft anymore (kind of difficult when you’re dead). The MCPs who sold them the contracts are then on the hook for the money.

“Aha!” says the suit from Redmond. “You made a contract with us, and another with them. Their inability to uphold their end of the contract does not invalidate your commitment to us.”

This is what I’ve heard from pals in the industry. Pals who’re being screwed over right now. In short, the MCP’s have to pay the licensing fees for the bankrupted companies.

The sheer shock of having to do so is starting to hit the Icelandic economy, hard. Already battered by the collapse of almost all privately held financial institutions and the subsequent bust of nearly fifteen hundred companies, Iceland’s MCP’s are next.

And then,

But the backlash effect has been astounding. Several of Iceland’s largest MCP’s are now fighting for survival in a sea already at significant turmoil due to the economic depression. Shit had already hit the fan, but now they’re being skull-fucked by Microsoft to boot.

And what would you do? Well. My sources tell me a lot is afoot. Several MCP’s are bailing out, switching over to Free Software and restructuring their business model. Keep the revenue inside Iceland, sell better technical services for less money and yet double their revenue. “Why didn’t we do this earlier?”

Why indeed.

That’s just beautiful. I bet this is making all sorts of people eager to sign up as an MCP.

The original article is occasionally returning a 500, but Google has it cached. It’s very colorful.

Ricardo Science and Technology crisis, freesoftware, Microsoft, Science and Technology

Now that I’m back home, I’m catching up with the hundreds of photos I shot but didn’t edit or upload, so I likely will be posting

Below are the graves of the Brothers Grimm, which I saw on a detour to Schöneberg. There seemed to be papers at the ground, children’s notes held down by stones. Not sure if that was a particular school trip or some sort of tradition I’m unaware of.

Ricardo Books, music and film, Travel Berlin

More than jetlagged I feel caffeine-lagged. I got used to drinking more grüner tee in Berlin to keep warm, plus kept sampling the capuccinos at places where I stopped in the afternoons. Now that I’m back on a lower dosage, my body is kind of resenting it.

I brought back some rooibos that I found at an organic supermarket, but given its lack of caffeine, I’ll wait until I’ve re-balanced my caffeine intake to try it.

Ricardo Health, Travel caffeine, coffee, rooibos, tea

There were so many activities going on all the time in Berlin, that inevitably I was going to miss some of them by only a few days. There was a showing of Don Giovanni that started in mid-march, plus an opera season starting on February 28 with (I believe) The Marriage of Figaro; and just at the end of March, a musical by Eric Woolfson (co-founder of The Alan Parsons Project) on Edgar Allan Poe.

Berlin is very much alive.

Ricardo Books, music and film, Travel Berlin, music, opera