The Register® — Biting the hand that feeds IT

Feeds

Brazilian physicists boycott Dell

'Don't ask, don't Dell' policy

Requirements Checklist for Choosing a Cloud Backup and Recovery Service Provider

A group of Brazilian physicists is trying to launch a boycott by the country's academic community to fight Dell Computer's war on terror.

The campaign is a response to Dell's security checks, which take a hard line against Anti-American scheming with an impregnable barrier of drop down options and radio buttons.

The story was first reported by Brazil's daily Folha de Sao Paulo, and spotted by the folks at The Economic Times

Dell's methods quite reasonably depend on the honesty and forthrightness of Enemies of Freedom™ to identify their intentions to use Dell products in the production of weapons of mass destruction. When a customer proceeds to checkout, they get hit with a probe such as this:

Thanks to Dell, we can all sleep sounder in our beds

Still, it beats waterboarding.

Dell demands its products not be handed over to citizens of Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Libya, North Korea and Syria, and others deemed hostile to the United States. The company says the export compliance document is a standard government requirement. But Brazilian nuclear physicist Paulo Gomes of the Federal Fluminense University isn't satisfied.

"I do not have to justify my actions before anyone, and I am not obliged to follow US policies. I am a buyer. I am not receiving a donation. Besides, I have ties with Cuban physicists and will not renounce those," he said.

Gomes will return the two computers if Dell provides a refund and sends a letter to the Physics Institute at UFF justifying the restrictions, The Economic Times reports.

Gomes sent a report on his displeasure to the Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology and the Brazilian Physics Society to recommend the boycott to its members. ®

What you need to know about cloud backup

Latest Comments
Anonymous Coward

@There are physicists in Brazil?

Well, we do spend quite a lot of their time on the beach frolicking with the math babes, and we're indistinguishable from the computer science guys on the sand-floored bars, so it is no wonder you've not noticed us.

0
0

Questions

IIRC, when Evelyn Waugh visited the US, he had to fill in an entry form that asked if he intended to “subjugate the government of the United States." He wrote, “sole purpose of visit,” and was detained for a week...

0
0

brazilian import taxes

yes as an american company dell must comply with these laws but if brazil didnt have some ass backwards policies themselves they could have a much stronger electronics industry... as is there is a heavy tarif on all imported electronics parts and companies who who try to do business there.

This was put into place in hopes of stimulating local electronics industry growth but has not been followed through on at all, which is very typical of the brazilian government... It is very common for people who travel to brazil often to bring laptops, digi cams and video game systems to sell while there to finance their trip because buying even a ps2 memory card will cost about 70 dollars US... about 120 rais. Thats allot of money to your average brazilian.

But in this case considering hes already got the machines does it realy matter how he fills out forms? dell and he us trade dept would be hard pressed to try to make the brazilian government as the fudning body/owner return the machines.

yes these laws are total bs, I am respnsible for distributing token cards for my company. All the newer tokens come from china but i cant export them to employees in china even if their at a company location.

how much sense does that make?

0
0

More from The Register

Microsoft lures buy-curious vixens, corduroys with a cheap fondle
Surface slab sales latest: Will no one rid Ballmer of these turbulent tabs?
Samsung Galaxy Note 8: Proof the pen is mightier?
Sammy’s iPad Mini killer has a stylus to stab other rivals too
First look: iOS 7 for iPad
No, Apple hasn't released it yet, but that doesn't stop intrepid devs
 breaking news
Curtain drops on Apple Store ahead of WWDC: What lies behind?
Steve Jobs watching from on high. No pressure, lads
 breaking news
Cold, dead hands of Steve Jobs slip from iPhones: The Cult of Ive is upon us
Billionaire biz baron's death clears way for uber-shiny iOS 7
Airbus imagines suitcases that find themselves
Point your mobe at your smalls to track their every move
Surprise! Intel smartphone trounces ARM in power trials
Tests show equal performance while sipping significantly less juice
Samsung plans LTE Advanced version of Galaxy S4
1Gbps download capability could stiffen drooping S4 sales forecasts
Ex-HTC execs launch UK-based smartphone maker Kazam
Startup threatens to 'disrupt status quo' this year