Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil's President, wants to help Brazil become a country with a significant technology sector. He says that Microsoft's costly licensing fees are a barrier. So he plans on promoting open source software instead.
Open source advocate Sergio Amadeu heads Brazil's National Information Techonology. Amadeau hopes to see open source technology flourish in this country of 170 million. In Brazil, only 10 percent can afford computers at home.
Microsoft worries shutting them out will rob the country of free choice. Microsoft made $318 million in the last fiscal year in Brazil, Microsoft's biggest market in South America. If Brazil succeeds in moving away, others nations could follow.
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