Hi guys!
This is what I think about Open Source being "unamerican"
First of all, let me tell you that I am not North American I am Venezuelan
(that's South Amarican) and my parents are Cuban, so let me tell you that
Open Source isn't comunism, Open Source IS Freedom, in the sense that you
are free to choose what really works best for you, what ever that means. It
is simply your choice! Now I call that freedom. Microsoft usually forgets
that they are not the only ones that undestands technology, sure they have
great people, but what they forget is that must of us understand technology
too, must of us work every day with technology, must of us have found that
their mediocre software solutions are not up to the task, are missing
essential features we need(not what they think we need) or are just plain
too unstable (who wants to work extra time restoring a server that has just
crashed?)
We have found a way to fix problems to our everyday tasks, and create great
solutions along that way. WE ARE GREAT SOFTWARE DESIGNERS TOO, once again,
WE ARE GREAT SOFTWARE DESIGNERS!, and that is something that really counts.
We can design software solutions that are far better that anything MS
has(Tomcat, Cocoon, Apache) Microsoft thinks that they can create software
solutions for every need that we had, that we have, and that probably we
will have in the future! Calling that a Intelectual Propertry Destroyer
(<<---what this mean any way?) is something that I don't get. Does this
mean that we should only use things that we can buy? Things with a brand on
it? What happens when "Intelectual Property" stuff is not up to the task?
Are we going to pay for something that it is not worth? Would any one here
pay for something he or she doesn't need? Do you go to the must expensive
store? Do you buy without payinng attention to the price ticket?
Microsoft imagines a world with only one operating system, one office
suite, one data base....This vision really looks like Comunism to me, or
worst like a Science Fiction story of some uncertain and obscure future.
If you play the futurist role just for a second, think that probably we
will have must electronic a consumers goods and stuff with a OS embbeded on
it. Do you think that MS should be everywhere! In your car, your watch,
your microwave, your bank, your air plane, or even in the life supporting
equipment that is helping someone to breath? You can call me paranoic, but
really just for a moment...
Second point is about the so called "American Way"; although you probably
have another point of view with this. Is making money all there is
"American" in the phrase? So making money and doing clean bussines and
being proud of it (like you should!) is a an important part of it. But what
about sharing, working together, and helping each others? A great country
isn't built around frontiers, that is mine, thats yours. You people (North
American) built a great country with hard work, sharing what you have, with
a great sense of freedom and humans rights, and with a great sense of what
is the best for the whole (community, country) in your mind! Your model is
so good and fare, that it has been imitated by a great deal of countries,
sure you have problems, but who hasn't? I can't imagine somthing more
american that the spirit of collaboration, sharing and the sense of
community that we share! If anybody here whats to sell what we have produce
or sell the support we are free to do it? <<<----The american way!
When a tragedy occurs in the United States, like a earthquake, a bomb, a
plane crash, It is amazing the way the WHOLE country moves and reacts as
one to solve the problems, for this insignificant and ignorant outsider,
that is the American Way, help each others, collaborate, do what is best
for all, not for individuals.
Doesn't "help each other", "collaborate", "solve problems", "sense of
community", "freedom", "choice", "support", "innovation" what makes the
american way the succesful model it is?
Well, "help each other", "collaborate", "solve problems", "sense of
community", "freedom", "choice", "support" and "innovation" is what makes
Open Source model the succesful proyect and model it is, just like the
american way, the real one, the whole one, not just a small fraction of it!
Victor Medina
Universidad Tecnologica del Centro
Valencia-Venezuela
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