In a message of Sun, 26 Dec 2004 17:41:19 PST, "Kirby Urner" writes:
>I think Gnome is ahead of KDE in some ways and vice versa. What USAers tend >to consider optimal is: competition. We *want* alternative desktops to >compete for hearts and minds, because as would-be users, we stand to gain >from the rivalry. That may sound primitive, but from experience we know >that monopolies breed laziness and lousy service, which in operating systems >translates to all kinds of problems, potentially serious ones (not just >cosmetic). > >Kirby > That doesn't sound primative at all. I'm on the front line of the 'keep software patents out of Europe' war. It is interesting that it sounds to me profoundly anti-American. But then I am spending a huge amount of time kicking holes in the US Patent Office's argument that unless you reward Americans with a monopoly they won't work, and that monopolies are the only effective way to ensure interoperability and the like. I am very glad to see that the USPO does not speak for all of you, and that sentiments expressed in the October 2003 Federal Trade Commission report "To Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Patent Law and Policy" see http://www.ffii.org.uk/swpat/ftc/ftc.html is more representative of your views. A steady diet of monopolist arguments can badly distort your perceptions ... Thanks Kirby, Laura _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list [email protected] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
