Got this from the open-health list, where we talk about open source
software for the healthcare field...
It's an out and out troll, so I want to see the fireworks, people! B-)
Cito
>Redmond, Washington, Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp.'s Windows
>operating-system chief, Jim Allchin, says that freely distributed
software
>code such as rival Linux could stifle innovation and that legislators
need
>to understand the threat.
>
>Story Link:
>http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-4825719-0.html
>
>
>
>
> 2/14/01 4:57 PM
> Source:Bloomberg News
>
> Redmond, Washington, Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp.'s Windows
> operating-system chief, Jim Allchin, says that freely distributed
software
> code such as rival Linux could stifle innovation and that legislators
> need to understand the threat.
>
> The result will be the demise of both intellectual property rights and
> the incentive to spend on research and development, he said yesterday,
> after the
> company previewed its latest version of Windows. Microsoft has told
> U.S. lawmakers of its concern while discussing protection of
intellectual
> property
> rights.
>
>
> Linux is developed in a so-called open-source
> environment in which the software code generally isn't owned by any one
> company. That, as well as programs such as
> music-sharing software from Napster Inc., means the world's largest
> software maker has to do a better job of talking
> to policymakers, he said.
>
> ''Open source is an intellectual-property
> destroyer,'' Allchin said. ''I can't imagine something that could be
> worse than this
> for the software business and the
> intellectual-property business.''
>
> Microsoft distributes some of its programs
> without charge to customers, although it generally doesn't release its
> programming code, and it retains the ownership
> rights to that code. Linux is the most widely known open-source
> product, though other programs including the
> popular Apache system for Web server computers also are developed the
> same way.
>
> Corel Inquiry
>
> Allchin made his comments several hours before
> Microsoft confirmed that its $135 million investment in software maker
> Corel Corp. last October is being reviewed by
the
> U.S. Justice Department. Corel said last month it willl drop efforts to
> develop the Linux operating system, though it
> will continue to make Linux applications. Corel said it hadn't consulted
> with Microsoft before making that decision.
>
> Brian Behlendorf, founder of open-source company
> CollabNet Inc., said most companies that use the open-source
> development model do retain the rights to
some of
> their intellectual property.
>
> ''I think Microsoft is trying to paint the
> open-source community as being fascist; that all software have has to be
> free, or
> none of it can be,'' said Behlendorf, whose
> company helps businesses run their own open-source projects.
>
> Allchin said he's concerned that the open-source business model could
> stifle initiative in the computer industry.
>
> ''I'm an American, I believe in the American Way,'' he said. ''I worry
> if the government encourages open source, and I don't think we've
done enough
> education of policy makers to understand the threat.''
>
> Linux Adoption
>
> Some leading computer companies including International Business
> Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. are selling Linux- based
products and
> working on open-source projects, noted Jeremy Allison, a VA Linux
> Systems Inc. software developer. He's also a leader in a project
develop an
> open-source file and printer server program.
>
> Microsoft only began significant lobbying efforts in the last few
> years. The Redmond, Washington-based company also talks to lawmakers
> about issues
> including the need for more visas for people with computer skills and
> computer privacy and security.
>
> Linux is the fastest-growing operating system program for running
> server computers, according to research firm IDC. It accounted for 27
> percent of unit
> shipments of server operating systems in 2000. Microsoft's Windows was
> the most popular on that basis, with 41 percent.
>
> Despite Linux's success in some markets, Allchin says he isn't
> concerned about sales competition from the product. Microsoft provides
> support to
> change and develop products based on its operating system software
that
> Linux companies don't, he said. Companies that use Linux in their
products
> then must pay someone else for support, he said.
>
> ''We can build a better product than Linux,'' he said. ''There is
> always something enamoring about thinking you can get something for
free.''
>
_
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