On Dec 11, 2009, at 12:10 PM, ck raju wrote: > I think we need to do away with terms like "cutting edge", "bleeding > edge" - they are too violent and appear to be a true characteristic > of the non-free proprietary world.
I beg to differ. Mainly because: 1. Calling a duck a "duck", and a tiger a "tiger" is the right thing to do. One can say the leopard was too fast, and the gazelle a wee bit too slow, it doesn't change events, the aftermath or the eminent emergence. However, calling the leopard a herbivore is downright silly and stupid. I say this because there are ways to be open, enable collaboration and transparent without being free. And, companies and organizations have exploited this fact. Just because some people want to call things something else, doesn't mean the world will change. It just adds up to the confusion and noise. A majority of people in the world still think "hacking" is bad. 2. Does the world need to change? AFAIK, most promising work on Kernels and other System Software is happening on Free and Open technologies. The reason is simple: Openness and easy accessibility reduces barriers to entry. Besides being excellent, the FOSS tool-chain is vast. I don't think any single commercial entity, or the even leading ones combined, can boast of this. Hell, even iPhone apps are compiled using gcc! If this isn't cutting or bleeding edge I do't know what is. Of Free, Open, Shared, and Collaborative - I think Free is the most important. At least, that is why I am here. Cutting-edge, sharing surface and bleeding edge, and whatever-else are just side-effects. 3. If Free and Open conjures up images of anarchy and rebellion, well, then that is what it essentially is. Anything that upsets the established order, or is inherently revolutionary brings along with it good elements of violence, conflict and friction. More often than not, it is the established order that draws first blood. There isn't a single documented instance of struggle for freedom in rights, thoughts or ideas in all of human history devoid of violence and anarchy. Whether or not you want it, call it what you want, this stuff happens. Terms and words are seldom violent, our perceptions always are. Cheers, Amol Hatwar _______________________________________________ network mailing list [email protected] http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in
