On Fri, 18 Jan 2002, Bob Miller wrote: > Okay, I'm just dredging up random URLs. I'll stop now. But I'm > seeing a sudden and large increase in Microsoft-bashing. And not just > from the usual malcontents. It's going mainstream -- the FBI??? When > was the last time the FBI published a warning about a defective product?
Remember CALEA (Communications And Law Enforcement Act)? Although in that case I think they were complaining that the products were too _good_! As far as `large monopolistic software producer` goes, we should be emphasising the _benefits_ of Free and Open Source Software, not bashing the competition. Let those who are still in the process of getting over the monopoly era do your bashing for you, now is the time to offer a compelling vision of the future that is respectful of human rights and a fertile ground for human creativity. If you've read cryptonomicon, the bit of business between Waterhouse and McArthur's aide after Waterhouse is shipped to Brisbane might come to mind. -- """See, we've gone over the watershed line of this war. We won midway. We won North Africa. Stalingrad. The Battle of the Atlantic. Everything changes when you go over the watershed line. The rivers all flow a different direction. It's as if the force of gravity itself has chaged and is now working in our favor. We've adjusted to that. Marshall and Churchill and all those others are still stuck in an obsolete mentality. They are defenders. But The General is not a defender. As a matter of fact, just between you and me, The General is lousy on defense as he demonstrated in the Phillipines. The General is a conqueror."""
