[escepticos] Microsoft compra la Iglesia Catolica

["Jaime Wilson" <jwilson@...>]

?Que les parece la mas reciente "inversion" del amigo Billy?

>Microsoft Acquires the Catholic Church
>By Hank Vorjes
>(c) 1997, Associated Press
>
>VATICAN CITY (AP)  In a joint press conference in St. Peter's
>Square this morning, Microsoft Corp. and the Vatican accounced
>that the Redmond software giant will acquire the Roman Catholic
>Church in exchange for an unspecified number of shares of
>Microsoft common stock.  If the deal goes through, it will be
>the first time a computer software company has
acquired
>a major world religion.
>
>With the acquisition, Pope John Paul II will become the senior
>vice-president of the combined company's new Religious Software
>division, while Microsoft senior vice-presidents Michael Maples
>and Steven Ballmer will be invested in the College of
>Cardinals, said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
>
>"We expect a lot of growth in the religious market in the next
>five to ten years," said Gates.  "The combined resources of
>Microsoft and the Catholic Church will allow us to make
>religion easier and more fun for a broader range of people."
>
>Through the Microsoft Network, the company's new on-line
>service, "we will make the sacraments available on-line for the
>first time" and revive the popular pre-Counter-Reformation
>practices of selling indulgences, said Gates. "You can get
>Communion, confess your sins, receive absolution  even reduce
>your time in Purgatory  all without leaving your home."
>
>A new software application, Microsoft Church, will include a
>macro
language
>which you can program to download heavenly graces automatically
>while you are away from your computer.
>
>An estimated 17, 000 people attended the announcement in St.
>Peter's Square, watching on a 60-foot screen as comedian Don
>Novello  in character as Father Guido Sarducci  hosted the
>event, which was broadcast by satellite to 700 sites worldwide.
>
>Pope John Paul said little during the announcement.  When
>Novello chided Gates, "Now I guess you get to wear one of those
>pointy hats," the crowd roared, but the pointiff's smile seemed
>strained.
>
>The deal grants Microsoft exclusive electronic rights to the
>Bible and the Vatican's prized art collection, which includes
>works by such masters as Michaelangelo and Da Vinci.  But
>critics say Microsoft will face stiff challenges if it attempts
>to limit competitors' access to these key intellectual
>properties.
>
>"The Jewish people invented the look and feel of the holy
>scriptures," said
>Rabbi David Gottschalk of Philadelphia.  "You take the parting
>of the Red Sea  we had that thousands of years before the
>Catholics came on the scene."
>
>But others argue that the Catholic and Jewish faiths both draw
>on a common Abrahamic heritage.  "The Catholic Church has just
>been more successful in marketing it to a larger audience,"
>notes Notre Dame theologian Father Kenneth Madigan.  Over the
>last 2, 000 years, the Catholic Church's market share has
>increased dramatically, while Judaism, which was the first to
>offer many of the concepts now touted by Christianity, lags
>behind.
>
>Historically, the Church has a reputation as an aggressive
>competitor, leading crusades to pressure people to upgrade to
>Catholicism, and entering
>exclusive licensing arrangements in various kingdoms whereby
>all subjects were instilled with Catholicism, whether or not
>they planned to use it. Today Christianity is available from
>several denominations, but the Catholic version is still the
>most widely used.  The Church's mission is to
>reach "the four corners of the earth," echoing Microsoft's
>vision of "a computer on every desktop and in every home."
>
>Gates described Microsoft's long-term strategy to develop a
>scalable religious architecture that will support all religions
>through emulation. A single core religion will be offered with
>a choice of interfaces according to the religion desired  "One
>religion, a couple of different implementations," said Gates.
>
>The Microsoft move could spark a wave of mergers and
>acquisitions, according to Herb Peters, a spokesman for the
>U.S. Southern Baptist Conference, as other churches scramble to
>strengthen their position in the increasingly competitive
>religious market.