Eh, but Victor you are too big a man, with measurable contributions to the development of OSS and this country, to start playing wilting violet (a.k.a. "[I] feel alone"). And equally you are too intelligent a man to make such a false leap as to term what is a normal desire for self advancement "egocentric". Surely man wants improve his quality of life, does he not? Surely even when you talk about "sustainability" and "development" you are talking about improving the lot of people. How can it be bad/wrong for Mark to want to use his money that he works for to improve himself as he sees best?
I have flogged my case for balance in this battle between the Jobsians and the Stallmanites to death, so I will not go there any more, except to say that lets not behave like men who meet in a bar and start talking about their wives, and the one gets so annoyed and starts a fight, because all the others refuse to agree that his wife is the most beautiful in the world! If he thinks she is, that's fine, until he starts trying to impose that view, evidence no matter, on the rest. And since you've been here (Uganda) long enough, and I truly believe you have made great, measurable contributions to our development, I will tell you what grates. Latter-day HM Stanleys. These ride in like they are here to save the natives from themselves. Like their 19th century forbears, they have an active disdain for the history and cultural context of the place, and they try to make up for their gaps by talking loudest and disregarding facts or logic (even in their own presentations). Except that this is the 21st century. Where we are far more educated in the ways of the wider world, and can tell Bovine Remains from the real thing. Actually, even the real HM Stanley found here well-developed societies and a people well in command of their environments. For that matter, people who understood (for instance) antiseptic surgical methods well before his own people did. But of course extreme left-brainedness did not allow his kind to understand that world, so instead they tried to arbitrarily reshape it. But, I digress. If you want to turn your entire life into a crusade, more power to you. But surely it is a little pompous to demand that all do the same, in every detail. (Moreover for something as mundane as IT.) I am an OSS man. Verifiably so. But I will state here, clearly, when I think the Evil Empire (a.k.a Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, etc.) has gotten things right. And when OSS has done a terrible job, I will say so. I don't want to become a drone, for one cause/empire or the other. P. On Oct 11, 2011, at 20:04, Victor van Reijswoud wrote: > What a sad and at the same time egocentric conclusion: "Everybody wants a > better quality of life for themselves" (emphasis on "themselves"). I have > always operated, and spent the last 10 years promoting Linux and open source, > under the impression that there is more than just the greedy individual. > There is a need to develop a nation, a continent and a majority of people > that cannot afford gadgets. They needs access to information and data > manipulations tools to move to the next level in development. > > Like Reinier, appropriateness and sustainability have been my drivers (see > also my publications in the area). Openness is an other important driver (see > also my book on FOSS4D). Apple technology is not sustainable nor open > (moreover, increasingly closed over the past years) and disqualifies as an > appropriate development tool. > > I still believe that open software, open data and affordable hardware are the > way forward for development, but I increasingly feel alone (especially on > this list). > > V > > > > On Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 5:04 AM, Mark Tinka <[email protected]> wrote: > On Friday, October 07, 2011 05:59:20 PM Reinier Battenberg > wrote: > > > somehow, in our local market, you would hope things like > > 'appropriateness' or 'cost' or the classic > > 'sustainability' would play a bigger factor when people > > choose their toolbox. > > Everybody wants a better quality of life for themselves, > regardless of economic or social circumstances. Most people > can only wish, but they'll seize an opportunity as soon as > it drops. > > Mark. > > _______________________________________________ > The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug > > Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: [email protected] > Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug > To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug > > The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: > http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them in any > way. > > _______________________________________________ > The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug > > Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: [email protected] > Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug > To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug > > The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: > http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them in any > way.
_______________________________________________ The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: [email protected] Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: http://www.infocom.co.ug/ The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them in any way.
