Hi Manny,
On 9/19/06, manny <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On Sat, 16 Sep 2006, Dean Michael Berris wrote:
> As far as the FOSS bill goes, I believe (and am adamant) that there is
> a better way of approaching FOSS than requiring it be the only thing
> used in government. There should be promotion of open standards
> without requiring that only FOSS will be used by government. There
> should be a comprehensive study on the viability of FOSS for the
> myriad of agencies we already have but not mandatory requirements.
That comprehensive study is exactly what will be pushed if FOSS becomes
the default route for government agencies. The agencies will be compelled
to make a real evaluation to see if FOSS doesd meet its requirements, and
to see whether the proprietary solution do the same. Your fanatical
opposition does nothing but preserve the status quo, regardless of your
other off-topic yearnings for "change".
My fanatical opposition? I think you're getting my opposition wrongly.
I want the Philippine government to use FOSS, but I want it to be used
plainly because of its merits -- not because it was required. If FOSS
is as good as we think it is, then why should government require it to
be used? Have the local providers bid with FOSS, and then make it
through to government the same way proprietary software made it into
government.
I just have something against special/preferential treatment because I
believe it's not fair in any way I look at it.
> I actually believe in Open Source Software (I write open source
> software too) -- but stay away from infectious licenses like the GPL
> (I just don't need the dogma). I like the idea of being able to use
> software as it is _even to make profit out of selling or supporting_
> it.
In other words, benefitr from othe effort of others but do nothing to
support the effort that produces it. Yeah right.
Yes and No. http://boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt
I use this license in the libraries I write and have written, and
believe that the same license and those similar to it are more
beneficial to the IT industry _as a whole_. This serves both the
proprietary software makers and the FOSS makers.
"Giving without expecting anything in return." << That's what I
believe in when I work on Open Source projects. Anything that comes
out from it is a bonus.
Microsoft has supported the Boost developers by providing compilers
and IDE's. Intel has done the same. And the Adobe Source Library is
licensed under the MIT license:
http://opensource.adobe.com/licenses.html
Say that again? Benefit from the work of others but do nothing to
support the effort that produces it?
The GPL is not the only open source license out there. IMO, it's
hardly the best either.
> No, I am just against the bias for FOSS -- but am in favor of making
> sure that government information be made available to everyone using
> open standard technologies.
Won't happen. Not with your way that just promotes the status quo. Get
real.
What wont happen? I hardly think that the "any change is alright,
whatever the implications of the changes are" attitude will get us to
where we actually want to be (or at least, to where I want to be).
Although I might be wrong according to other people's standards, I
still believe that policy making should not just be a matter of
preference and "perceived merits" that promote a mandatory use of any
particular type of object. I am for equal opportunity especially when
it comes to dealing with the government -- and that the decision to be
made by the governments be guided by objective criteria not marred by
preference or bias for any particular type.
Yes, I'm a liberal -- and damn proud of it.
I have seen a lot of FOSS crap that are being used _just because
they're FOSS_. And majority of the users don't even contribute to the
improvement of these projects: mostly they just complain, and hope
someone fixes whatever is broken instead of actually getting involved.
Just like Government should not discriminate or favor any one
religion, I believe it should not discriminate or favor any one _type_
of software license. Otherwise, our government will be no better than
the Taliban with the draconian and anti-choice/freedom policies.
--
Dean Michael C. Berris
C++ Software Architect
Orange and Bronze Software Labs, Ltd. Co.
web: http://software.orangeandbronze.com/
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
mobile: +63 928 7291459
phone: +63 2 8943415
other: +1 408 4049532
blogs: http://mikhailberis.blogspot.com http://3w-agility.blogspot.com
http://cplusplus-soup.blogspot.com
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