It seems Microsoft has a new scheme for coercing the world's children into using Windows PCs. For less than the cost of a Starbucks grande mocha latte, governments in low-income countries will be able to buy a bundle of Windows, Office and other Microsoft apps. The $3 copies are part of a program called Microsoft Unlimited Potential (MUP) and will be available to elementary and secondary students acros It seems Microsoft has a new scheme for coercing the world’s children into using Windows PCs. For less than the cost of a Starbucks grande mocha latte, governments in low-income countries will be able to buy a bundle of Windows, Office and other Microsoft apps. The $3 copies are part of a program called Microsoft Unlimited Potential (MUP) and will be available to elementary and secondary students across the globe.Microsoft has devoted an entire subsite to MUP, filled with photos of earnest smiling children and talking up MUP’s philanthropic mission. But nowhere in there is a mention of what this initiative is really about: an attempt to cut the One Laptop Per Child initiative off at the kneepants. OLPC has already begun distributing $150 Linux laptops in Brazil and Nigeria, with Libya, Uganda, and Ethiopia in the pipeline. We certainly can’t have kids growing up in a Windows-free world, now can we?The good news: We finally know what Windows and Office are truly worth. But is that still $2.99 too much? Would you pay three bucks for MS apps? Send me a postcard or post your comments below. Top tipsters will receive a handsome Cringe bag worth almost as much as that Microsoft bundle. Software DevelopmentSmall and Medium Business