thank you, bnv raman, for your excellent response. my inputs follow:
On Sunday 16 March 2003 04:36 pm, you wrote:
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: BNV Raman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
[SNIP]
As all software companies
> > enjoy the **limited** benefits provided by the government in the form of
> > defense, infrastructure, etc, they should also pay the same taxes and
>
> duties
>
> > that manufacturing industries and services pay, viz, excise duties, sales
> > taxes and income taxes, but not to promote FLOSS!
right on!
else, all other industries who actually make less money than software
companies, must have taxes removed from them as well.
>> [snip]. The best
>
> people
>
> > to decide what Indian Corporates should spend money on, are themselves
> > and their share holders, not us.
right now, they do not have a choice when it comes to bundled OEM software.
they also do not have a choice when it comes to some COTS. because the COTS
guy in some cases may have stifled any competition and innovation from others
as well.
so this suggestion is to start giving back the choices through the
development and adoption of FLOSS. if, the corporates still wanna use
commercial non free software after a *viable* alternative is available, they
have the freedom for the first time to do so.
> >
> > Whoever writes software, has the full freedom to sell it to whoever
> > he/she wishes, imposing any conditions he/she chooses. The customer, if
> > he does
the tax does not take that freedom away from the developer or even a software
company. i see no contradiction
[heavy snip]
But do not promote
>
> FLOSS
>
> > by hitting at personal freedoms.
i am not hitting at personal freedoms, just bringing awareness to the lack of
such freedoms in the current scenario. and even the lack of viable
freedom-based options, which hopefully this suggestion will enable.
> >
> > The only way to curtail so called strong snti-competitive behaviour is to
> > make and provide the market with a better product.
this is not how the software industry has worked so far. the better products
have usually seen lesser market share. better or worse does not bother me.
freedom does. freedom to choose between a COTS and a FLOSS. and viable
alternatives at all points. and all the new opportunities and innovations
FLOSS can open up, when seriously deployed, adopted, and developed, at a mega
level because of the forces that will propel this need. (read earlier emails).
[heavy snip]
> > Piracy is rampant in China. So any figures/statistics anybody has on
> > China will
>
> be
>
> > inaccurate, to say the least. For all we know, pirated commercial
> > software could be used much more.
> >
i hate the notion that everyone is a 'pirate' i have strong emotions about
the clever and cunning abuse of that term. but let;s not get into that. most
honest, integrated, ethical people, do not even know they are criminals. and
should they find out, they will not even know the alternative. the 'vested
interests' make a killing every day throwing unsuspecting people into jails,
issuing legal notices, threatning legal actions, et al. the govt has some
responsibility in not just using fear and law to further IT, but also provide
a needed alternative route as relief. whether people choose to walk that
route or not is left to their freedom and responsibility.
>> [heavy snip]
I'm a die hard advocate of FLOSS, but I
>
> do
>
> > not believe that commercial software kills innovation. Show me one
>
> instance.
sigh! people, help me please. share with him how commercial non-free software
has been killing innovation. please offer me so some support.
[snip]
> >
> > So please petition Dell / HP / IBM / etc etc etc and get them to sell
> > computers with OS uninstalled, or at least to provide us with a choice.
read the archives at ILUG-D. you;ll get the picture on almost how impossible
that is. go ahead, give it a shot yourself this morning. pick up the paper,
read an ad from some branded pc guy, call up, and ask the pc be quoted to you
without the bundled OS and apps. good luck!
[heavy snip]
> >
> > Agreed, but this is not the government's problem, or something that
> > should be rectified by law / regulation / imposing Excise Duty. This
> > should be taken care through the free market mechanism.
the 'free' market mechanism does not exist. else this discussion would not
take place. the tax helps usher in the free market mechanism because market
forces will forge it.
>If enough people
> > demand> choice > and FLOSS, and if it makes business sense, computer
manufacturers will
> > supply the necessary configurations.
big if. not happened yet for 15 years.
>Its our job, as promoters of FLOSS,
>
> to
>
> > remove all problems of FLOSS, so that more and more people demand FLOSS!
well, i see one problem, which this taxation is supposed to address.
for responses to your other comments, read the other mailings to the lists on
this topic.
:-)
LL
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