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On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:06:20 +0000 Tom Brough <tombrough@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > The layers of strata between proprietary, open source, and free software > are now becoming polerized. It looks like Microsoft's game plan is to > bring down the "open source" community using FUD / Novell and hope it > brings GNU / FSF down with it . > > > All I can sing now is Freeeeeeeeeee......... GNU/Linux (to the tune of > Free Nelson Mandella) > > Tom. Microsoft do not (yet) understand the free software community - they understand the open source development model (which is why they are doing what they are doing now) but at recent Expo's, MS employees (some v.high up) have shown absolutely no understanding of how the community development model works, basically because MS cannot understand sharing (or more accurately cannot see how they can receive income from sharing). A lot of MS still sees sharing as piracy. Microsoft don't want to bring down open source, they just want to control it - even they don't see that this will actually kill it. MS think that anything they do not control is a threat. They meet these threats, traditionally, with cash. They bought quarterdeck, they funded SCO and now they've bought Novell. They still don't have a way to compete with free software, which is why they are trying both software patents and non-free blobs. Every time following a standard has involved extra work for MS, MS simply omit the standard and implement their own "convention" which becomes the default. HTML is STILL suffering from the effects of those decisions. Whether MS can ever understand and abide by a licence or standard that they have not designed themselves is unknown. It is at time like these that obstinate, stubborn and fanatical people like RMS become essential, to stand firm on FSF principles and not try to "accommodate" or "be flexible" towards non-free. Microsoft are bound to continue attacking free software and eventually may try a charm offensive - the end will come when MS are finally able to abide by the GPL. If Sun can do it . . . -- Neil Williams ============= http://www.data-freedom.org/ http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/ http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/
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