---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 13 Aug 1999 21:01:25 +0100
From: john courtneidge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Quakers (Britain Yearly Meeting) online meeting place"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: econ-lets <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: FW: [Co-opNet] Co-operative work, Linux and the future of computing
Friends, all - for your entertainment/astonishment/whatever
Remember the South Sea Bubble, Tulipomania etc and etc ???????????
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From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (heiko)
To: subscribers:;
Subject: [Co-opNet] Co-operative work, Linux and the future of computing
Date: Fri, Aug 13, 1999, 6:09 pm
Co-operative work, Linux and the future of computing
The Market is mad….NASDAQ decides communism is more efficient than
capitalism
Within three days "Red Hat" a Linux software packaging and marketing
company which loses money and makes nothing of significance itself, floated
on the US stock market and increased it's share price more than four times
and is suddenly valued at $6.4 Billion. All Red Hat have done is package
Linux, the free and open source software programmes made by volunteers
across the world and charged for it. What does this signify?
For those who don't know, Linux is an operating system that works by
providing all the "source codes" for all programmes that run on it, so
there are no secrets, errors can be corrected immediately and development
has no limits. Unlike private copyrighted source codes of commercial
companies. In a word Linux can be made to run any computer operation you
can imagine, and an infinite variety you cannot yet thing of, AND IT IS
FREE.
The Financial Times carried a major article today August 13 1999, p 14
asking whether co-operative made software can defeat Microsoft, and
concludes yes..!
According to the United Nations Human Development Report 1999 Linux
"Apache" programme on servers now runs over 50% of all web servers
world-wide, and the FT reports 70% of e-mail is sent on Linux "Send Mail".
In other words the Internet is being run by co-operative endeavour, nay by
the communist ideals that Marx spoke of "from each according to his
ability, to each according to his needs".
Thank God!..because the implications of continuing and extending the
domination of private ownership of software managing the Internet are too
horrific to contemplate.
But what does this mean for co-operatives?
First it means the rebirth of co-operatives on a high tech basis can defeat
multinationals, second that the Unions, Co-operatives and Labour movement
must promote co-operative software development, e-commerce and computing
operations, with HARD CASH. A little investment by the Government in these
areas, even if only £10-100 million in the UK for example, could destroy
Microsoft's position in the server market and create open source core
programmes to serve the whole world.
No doubt Blair and co and already planning to announce something like this
investment in co-operatives any day…because they don't want monopolies
controlling the world economy by their stifling stranglehold on the
development of software do they?
Co-operative or communist operations are winning the high tech efficiency
war, this we must shout from the rooftops and scream outside number 10, who
knows someone may listen.
Heiko Khoo
http://www.internetfuture.com
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