This is just so funny, I had to put my own thoughts into it...
On Mon, 19 Feb 2001, Cito Maramba wrote:
<snip>
> >
> > ''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.''
> >
Exactly. Much of the motivation behind the FREE SOFTWARE movement is not
so much volunteer programming for fun as it is a means to get away from
the system of "intellectual property" once and for all. It is an attempt
to transform the software industry from being a product industry that
depends on intellectual property law in order to provide the illusion that
software is a product into a service industry.
<snip>
> > ''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.
> >
Far from being fascist. The Free Software community is attempting to
ensure that ALL software remains free. I think people should try to
compare the GPL to some of the MS click-wrap EULA's and see which is more
"fascist".
> > 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.''
> >
Threat to whom? Threat to MS and the proprietary software business model
they've grown rich on surely.
<snip>
> >
> > 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.
> >
And so? What kind of support do you get from MS as opposed to
subcontracting from one of those Linux support companies? Try to convince
MS to add i18n in Windows for the en-ph locale we discussed last Saturday.
Or otherwise get MS to make even a trivial change to any of their
shrink-wrapped mass market software...
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