Chávez chavs get Linux Classmates
A MILLION LOW-COST notebooks are winging their way over to Venezuela from Portugal following a government agreement signed this week.
The computers, which are based on the Intel Classmate PC design, have been agreed to be shipped over from a Portuguese manufacturer.
This agreement represents the largest deployment of Classmate PCs since Intel first introduced this low-cost design.
The Portuguese OEM will manufacture their own version of the Classmate, named Magellan PC for the Hugo Chávez's Venezuelan government.
Although the notebooks are similar in both countries, the OS will be different as the Portuguese use a modified version of Microsoft Windows, while the government of Venezuela has opted for a version of Linux.
The Classmate is multi-purpose as since it is more of a design than an actual product it provides both a low-cost option for schools as well as making local manufacturers and Intel an easy profit.
According to Intel, the Venezuelan purchases will be based on the Atom chip – Intel is also selling its Atom processor to major OEMs for use in low-cost netbooks.
The deals with Portugal and Venezuela see a total of 1.5 million Classmates in circulation – the first of these shipments will set sail by the end of this year, the bulk of them by the first half of next. µ
See Also
Portugal signs deal for half a million Classmate PCs
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You don't think that Microsoft won't interfere with this? You're crazy. That's millions of children learning Linux as their primary OS. This isn't going to happen, not without major interference by Microsoft.
The BBC put it so much better: 

"Venezuela splashes out on new laptops"

A minister said "Gringo porn for all the gauchos - very good!"
Jim: a valid reasoning. Just be aware that Venezuela is a free country, where the U$ influence is less powerful than in its european colonie$$$. Nice to see Hugo landing another clever deal. If only these notebooks would have AMD processors though ;)
I guess you never heard of hugo chavez then eh Jim, he despises america's ways and likely picked linux because MS is so capitalistic, and I doubt there's anything they can do about it.
It is unlikely that microsoft will interfere with this deal. Chavez is anti-American and more than likely made his choice based on that. There is nothing that MS can do about that, unless they forfeit their american citizenship.