Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Now, normally you’d think localizing software into languages — either worldwide or indigenous — would be a Good Thing, but apparently that isn’t the case for the Chilean Mapuche Indians. Representing some 400,000 Mapuzugun-speaking south Chileans, Mapuche tribal leaders are pursuing a case against Microsoft for the “intellectual piracy” of releasing Windows translated in their native tongue. Granted, these people aren’t exactly being forced to buy Windows or anything but you’d think Microsoft doing the legwork wouldn’t arouse this kind of ire — after all, they’ve already supposedly translated Windows into Mohawk, Quechua and Inuktitut, among other native languages. We’re not so sure we’d be so fast to take a company renowned for its storied reputation of litigiousness — like Microsoft, for example — to court over translating software (or a book, or a movie, etc.) into a somewhat obscure tongue, but hey, just think of what all those Gates bucks can do for your local tribe.

[Thanks, Karl]

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