Why Microsoft fails Burkina Faso

Beep. Beep. Beep. The deaths throws of a rapidly deteriorating UPS are the only sound audible over the soft humming of the fan – who’s gentle breeze isn't quite strong enough to keep trickles of sweat from running down my back. I glance over at Karim, who is staring blankly at the screen in front of us, waiting for me to work magic. I'm at the office of the Centre d'Action Social, though it could be any of the several offices I've helped out here in Toma. As always the back story goes a little something like this:

There was a little extra money and a sore need for a computer and somewhere someone ordered a nice shiny new computer from France for use here in Burkina. It arrived in a nice shiny box with a nice shiny preloaded copy of Windows and Microsoft Office installed and ready to go. Caution is taken to try and make sure the computer is cooled and kept relatively dust free. Everyone is really excited. They hope it will last for a long time.

From the mounting numbers of random programs, poorly placed files, and other problems stemming from lack of computer knowledge people have noticed that the computer is getting slower and slower. Most civil servants have heard of computer viruses and know that they are bad, but that's about it. Maybe the organization will institute a "no USB key" rule, which will last for all of a week or two. And for the first 45 days, or however long the 'free' virus protection lasts, things will be alright - just long enough to build up a critical mass of important files. Then one day someone starts up the computer to the warning signal that the 'free' virus protection period is over. They need to log onto the internet with a credit card to get renew it. This is problem in three regards: first very few people have internet, second even fewer (if any) people have credit cards and third there isn't any money to pay for it. If the person who realizes that the virus protection is down is really computer savvy perhaps they will know how to install a free anti-virus (which can't actually be updated so it can't do much) but this usually isn't the case.

And then after the next person with a USB key comes close to the computer it's all over. Within a day's time the thousand dollar, state-of-the-art, computing workhorse has become a useless lump of metal, rendered inoperable by a host of viruses now residing in the very fabric of what once was a functioning copy of Windows and taking with it close to two months of files.

I had managed to start this particular computer started and after backing up some documents I tried reinstalling a free antivirus ( Avira found at free-av.com). Immediately after installation the warnings started rolling in. My jaw dropped. There was at least one virus attached to almost every single executable and many of the dlls. It was a nightmare. And on a restart to try once again to get into the now disabled 'Safe' Mode the viruses had devoured Avira.

Time to reinstall Windows. I sighed. It seems that no one has Windows disks here and those that do never have a key for them. I hesitated, but decided to ask Karim anyway. He left for a moment and to my pleasant surprise came back holding a stack of CDs, one of which was a Windows reinstall disk, saying it didn't require a key! I popped the disk in and started the reinstall. After an hour more of small talk with Karim we had done it and I triumphantly started up Windows. Only to be asked to validate the key.

Our only option was by telephone, and I started by looking for Burkina's recommended telephone number to call to validate. Instead of a +225 number up came the country code for Cote d'Ivoir. I asked Karim if he could make the call, he said he had enough money in his cell and after a brief fumble to choose the correct cell (most civil servants here have at least two phones) he produce the correct phone and makes the call. The number has been disconnected. I looked up the number for Mali - disconnected, Senegal - disconnected, Benin - disconnected, Togo - disconnected, Niger - disconnected. I was getting desperate and since I knew English we tried Ghana. You guessed it - disconnected.

I told Karim we might have to make a call to France. He said he would have to go out and get some more credit put on his phone. Five minutes later he was back, assuring me that his phone now had enough money to make a short call to France. There were two listed numbers. We dialed the first. It was disconnected. And so was the second.

After another trip to go charge his phone Karim said there was enough money to make a short call to the US. I hate to think what this was going to cost but dialed the number and was soon talking to the wonderful voice of the Microsoft activation robot lady. A short but expensive five minutes late every last digit had been yelled into the phone and the response field was full. I held my breath and pressed Enter. It worked.

So all's well that ends well right? Not so fast! Unfortunately for Karim, he hadn't been given the installation disks or a key for Microsoft Office 2003. All of his virus-ridden but back-upped files were still useless! And it didn't look like any of the Microsoft vendors in the area were available for business let alone willing to help. Luckily for him I had just happened to find a key and instillation disk in the woods next to my house. Attached was a note that said something to the effect of:

'Dear Karim, We're sorry that you're computer came preloaded with an OS with no virus protection (even though we could have loaded a free one on it!) that has only slightly more vulnerabilities and viruses than the amount of money we rake in from sales to impoverished African countries like yours every year. To make up for it we're giving you this CD with an install of Microsoft Office 2003 (we thought you'd like it more than 2007, everyone in the US seems to) and a valid key usable for commercial purposes. I hope this helps! Love your caring software solution provider, Microsoft'

Sometimes this heat makes me question some of the things I think I find in the woods next to my house.

I recently heard that the 100-dollar laptop project is going to be distributed with a Windows operating system. If this is true I think they should rename it the 100-dollar-paper-weight project. Or better yet the make-a-dime-at-the-expense-of-the-poorest-people-in-the-world project.

Edit: So this post was written, as you can probably tell, with a lot of frustration and probably less thinking that is generally advisable. After thinking on it a bit I now realize that Microsoft probably hasn’t changed their activation phone number in France and every country in West Africa, it’s more likely that Karim wasn’t adding the ‘+’ to the beginning of the number, thus trying to dial locally. What I think I was really trying to say is that Microsoft isn’t a viable software solution for West Africa given the realities here- low computer literacy, lots of vectors and opportunities for viruses to spread, limited monetary resources and limited internet connectivity. The thought of them making money selling their software to people here when there are free, virus-free alternatives is depressing.