Re[2]: OT -- MS makes a statement about open-source software

Jared,

    That is a GOOD one. As for the rest, I haven't found my chemical warfare suit yet!!

    But this is just one more attempt by good old MS to cement their strangle hold on the PC and PC server market. It seems that MS believes that no Intel based computer should ever be allowed into the hands of an end user without first having paid their toll to MS. Is there a problem with a vendor selling a "naked" PC (namely one with a blank hard drive). Absolutely not. Precisely the point the anti-monopoly suit was brought, their just once again confirming that they are a monopoly. Now is there a problem with a "naked" PC getting an illegal copy of the OS or other commercial software? Yes there is, but that is also subject to an examination of the facts. If I buy a copy of Win2K for my PC at home, an upgrade in my case, am I allowed to install that software onto a new PC that is a replacement for the original? That I would say depends. First is the original going to stay around with the Win2K still installed? Yes, then that's wrong, you only have a license for one machine. If no, then that would depend on the license you agreed to when you purchased the software. The basic problem here & with the .net system is that MS does not want individuals or companies to "own" software. They want us to "rent" it meaning more money for then & less freedom for the consumer. Will .net succeed, I doubt it. The network bandwidth needed to make that a viable option does not exist today, especially over the Internet, and there are no plans in the works that I've heard of to open that up. I know my ISP throws a hissy fit when I try downloading a 10M file repeatedly. Imagine how much of a fit I'll get when I have to download Word and all of it's glorious plugins every time I need it?

    As for the idea that tech advancement & economics go hand in hand, well I think that's true to a point. Tech advancement and the military is much more pervasive. Ask yourself, where did the Internet come from? MilNet was up and running in a very similar form way before the Internet became more than a mail man and a scientific tool. TCP/IP was developed for the military, not as a commercial product but so that data could be safely transmitted from one point to another on a battlefield. Ever wonder why it's so robust, because battlefields are electronic nightmares. Rockets came from German support for science in WWII to carry bombs, not economically advantageous payloads. And a whole lot of the stuff we take for granted, including that computer in front of you started out as government sponsored program with a military application in mind. What kind of torque's me is that we, as taxpayers, paid for the development of these items once and now we have to pay for them all over again.

    As for OSS, sure there's a lot of questionable stuff out there. But there's a lot of very good stuff as well, stuff that MS would either find of questionable value or that they could never approach in the first place. I like OSS as well as "shareware". I've found a lot of very good, reliable, and scalable software out there that works very well, like UltraEdit and SEE4C. The first is a programmers editor, the latter an SMTP library. It's actually gotten to the point that I look to these sources as a first before looking to the commercial world.

Dick Goulet

____________________Reply Separator____________________
Author: Jared Still <jkstill_at_cybcon.com>
Date:       5/6/2001 12:20 AM

On Sunday 06 May 2001 00:30, Paul Drake wrote:

>

> uh - the consumer isn't intelligent?

Does this include users and induhviduals? ;)

For a visually humorous take on this:

 http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20010506

Jared

-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
-- 
Author: Jared Still
  INET: jkstill_at_cybcon.com

Fat City Network Services    -- (858) 538-5051  FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California        -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from).  You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
-- 
Author: 
  INET: dgoulet_at_vicr.com

Fat City Network Services    -- (858) 538-5051  FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California        -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from).  You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).