Here's my response to the latest M$ garbage. > Microsoft gets tough against open source
It seems that Mr. Sharp is so out of touch with reality one wonders what he's even doing in the IT business at all. For example, he thinks that with open source, software companies are in effect giving away their intellectual property and that this prevents a software company from getting back benefits from it. If they really do not reap benefits, then why are so many software companies actually developing and benefitting from it? It seems pretty obvious then that there are important benefits to using and developing open source software. One of these is the fact that open source companies do not have to "reinvent the wheel" since they can re-use the source code of others. This form of global cooperation allows open source developers to save significant amounts in researtch and development and, perhaps more important,. allows them to turn out high-quality products that they therwiose may not have had the resources to create on their own. Sharp also stated that such companies, because they are also in business, "... are not for the greater good of the community; they are also after the money." While that may be partly true, it is still not an argument against open source softwarwe. It is actually an argument against all for-profit companies, and especially against Microsoft since it has shown that it is more than willing to engage in monopolistic and unfair business practices just for profit. Finally, as if to prove that he is truly living in another world, Sharp states that, "With open source, there is no way to make more software," I suggest he take a look around the world and see just how much more (and better) open source software is being developed everyday. If his statement is true then why is the Linux operating system giving the the billion-dollar Windows operating system a run for its money? Sharp seems to forget that there are other ways to get back one's investment aside from software sales and other forms of exploiting intellectual property. Many of the best and most widely-used open source applications were developed simply because users needed to get things done and commercial software just couldn't do it for them. That still applies, even today. Many of the companies developing open source software also have other business models and make their money in training, support, and customization -- the same way many companies did before Microsoft even existed! If this is the kind of thinking that dominates Microsoft, then open source advocates should have nothing to fear. That company is planting the seeds of its own destruction. Perhaps we ought to give Sharp a medal for his lack of rational thought. -- Sign the petition against Senator Lacson: http://www.petitiononline.com/no2ping/petition.html --[Manny [EMAIL PROTECTED] Member: Philippine League for Democratic Telecommunications "Affordable Access for All" --[Open Minds Philippines]--------------------[openminds.linux.org.ph]-- -- Philippine Linux Users' Group (PLUG) Mailing List [EMAIL PROTECTED] (#PLUG @ irc.free.net.ph) Official Website: http://plug.linux.org.ph Searchable Archives: http://marc.free.net.ph . To leave, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/plug . Are you a Linux newbie? To join the newbie list, go to http://lists.q-linux.com/mailman/listinfo/ph-linux-newbie
