>Would the Internet >Archive project (www.archive.org) be able to be run as cheaply as >possible or maybe even as a non-profit organization at all if it >wasn't powered by Linux, Apache, PHP, and Perl?
>Would Berkeley Data >Systems (www.berkeleydata.net) take a hit monetarily if the website >wasn't powered by Linux, Apache, Perl, OpenSSL, and PHP? i don't know what the internet archive or bds has to do with this discussion, but i know that neither of them has anything to with the strength of the US economy. you've introduced a silly red herring with overtones of an ad hominem. oh, and we don't use perl at bds. ;-) >If Google didn't run their >corporation on Linux could they be as profitable as they are?? they would be marginally less profitable, but still very profitable. >So the >local economy of CA doesn't impact the US economy?? this is a stupid question. look, if you want to argue that open source has some positive effect on the strength of the US economy, then fine - i think that's clear. so do girl scout cookies and so does walmart. the question was: "to what degree is OSS responsible for the economic strength of the US." my answer? it's not responsible in the slightest. sure, OSS is a "good thing" but it's insignificant when compared to the bread and butter that makes the US an economic superpower in this world. it'd be folly to argue against that, but be my guest. Josh Coates www.jcoates.org -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Thad Van Ry Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 9:28 AM To: Provo Linux Users Group Mailing List Subject: Re: Slashdot feed... On Apr 6, 2005 8:35 PM, Josh Coates <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > this is what makes the US economy strong, that and a population of 300M > wealthy (globally relative) producers and consumers doesn't hurt. The big three can't sell trucks to people who can't afford to buy them. THAT is what makes the US economy strong. Would the Internet Archive project (www.archive.org) be able to be run as cheaply as possible or maybe even as a non-profit organization at all if it wasn't powered by Linux, Apache, PHP, and Perl? Would Berkeley Data Systems (www.berkeleydata.net) take a hit monetarily if the website wasn't powered by Linux, Apache, Perl, OpenSSL, and PHP? > sorry, but the fact that google runs linux or IBM supports apache or a small > handful of people (ie. 10's of thousands) regularly use emacs doesn't make a > nano-difference to the US economy. I'm sure Google contributes greatly to the economy of Mountain View, CA, as well as surrounding areas. If Google didn't run their corporation on Linux could they be as profitable as they are?? So the local economy of CA doesn't impact the US economy?? The _United_ States economy is strong because the local economies of it's cities is strong. Being a local elected official, this is the way I see it work every day. If a majority of my citizen's personal economy isn't strong, the economy of my city isn't strong. If a majority of the cities located in Utah don't have strong economies, then Utah doesn't have a strong economy. I think you see by now where I'm going with this. So if OSS disappeared tomorrow, would the sky fall? No. Would the stock market take a hit? You bet. Could it recover? Probably. However, to say that little things don't make a nano-difference to the economy doesn't ring true with me. They've made a difference to the companies you've been affiliated with, haven't they? > don't get me wrong, i'm all for open source, and it's certainly had a > positive effect on our careers and personal economics - but let's try to > stay grounded. ;-) So the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts? -- Thad Van Ry .===================================. | This has been a P.L.U.G. mailing. | | Don't Fear the Penguin. | | IRC: #utah at irc.freenode.net | `===================================' .===================================. | This has been a P.L.U.G. mailing. | | Don't Fear the Penguin. | | IRC: #utah at irc.freenode.net | `==================================='
