On Mon, 2004-05-10 at 13:20, Rex Johnston wrote:
Don Gould wrote:
With that sort of attitude it's probably best we keep you locked up for a while longer as well ;)
Don, in my experience with M$ they do everything they can to discredit and demonise us. I sat through a seminar held by NZ computer society for govt people and the M$ guy stood up and spouted a stream of half-truths and *implied* lies.
Do *not* treat them M$ like a friend. If you are a open source advocate, it will not reciprocate.
But with that said, the people who work for M$ I treat like members of the opposite team. I pull their leg, give them (metaphorical) stick and generally get up to gentle hassling/banter. People *always* deserve a minimum amount of respect.
What exactly does a community that prides itself on openness and group interaction have to lose by talking to Microsoft?
We make ourselves known to an organisation who prides itself on keeping secrets and severely punishing those who publicize their secrets.
They are an organisation that is run by very clever people that have, in the past, been able to adapt to new computer environments very quickly. (e.g. their about turns with the internet)
They can see F/LOSS not only on the horizon but starting to loom as well and they are worried. F/LOSS threatens their business model at it's core.
You can be assured that any meaningful information will only be moving in one direction and it won't be *from* Microsoft. M$ and it's employees are *extremely* well versed in fudging and avoiding awkward questions.
Despite what M$ tells people it *is* the enemy of F/LOSS. Open Source threatens it's business model and M$ will not give up it's licence to print money without a fight.
I have been to a few M$ events and what they need is hecklers and questioners. People to remove their *perceived* credibility.
Too many people sit in those events like supplicants recieving wisdom from above.
-- Zane Gilmore, Analyst / Programmer Information Services Section, Information Technology Dept, University of Canterbury - Te Whare Waananga o Waitaha Private Bag 4800, Christchurch New Zealand Phone +64-3-364 2987 extn 7895
