On Dec 29, 2006, at 9:06 AM, Rick Schummer wrote:
> I look forward to you helping me make up my mind if this is really
> wrong, or just another way companies can market.
Why the free laptop? Why not provide a free copy of Vista? Why not
do what hardware companies do, and provide a paid shipping box for
returning the hardware after the review?
I suppose that if corporate lobbyists gave politicians free travel,
free golf outings, free dining at fine restaurants and yes, even free
computers, but said "Senator, this isn't a bribe! No, no, of course
not! I just want you to *think* about our interests before you vote.
You don't have to promise to vote a certain way!", you'd consider
that to be ethical? I mean, after all, they explicitly did not
require a quid pro quo, so it is just "another way that companies can
market" to politicians.
> Or is this another opinion you are forming because you really
> dislike Microsoft and by default it is evil?
Oh, geez, not that crap again. Do you want everyone to immediately
discredit anything you write because you work for Microsoft? Does
your relationship with Microsoft by default mean that you are a
shill? Would you hold a high opinion of someone who used that as
their only basis for discrediting your writing?
I don't "really dislike" Microsoft and don't believe that "by
default" it is evil. I also don't appreciate having my opinions
trivialized and misrepresented by you or anyone else. I have observed
Microsoft in action for over two decades, and have certainly formed
opinions on their business practices, many of which are negative. I
also have very negative opinions about some of Apple's business
practices, as well as several other tech and non-tech companies.
Belittling those opinions by reducing them to a simple irrational
'dislike' is insulting.
> My mind is open.
I sure hope that you don't mean to imply that mine isn't. That would
be well below your standards for discourse.
How open are you? How many operating systems do you use on a daily
basis? How many development languages do you use regularly? Out of
those, how many are not Microsoft products?
-- Ed Leafe
-- http://leafe.com
-- http://dabodev.com
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