[dundee] Microsoft/Linux Equation

[Digit (SG)]

looking at their record, it's unlikely to be anything other than moves to
ensure their monopoly strangle hold by whatever means.  Like all Tyrants,
it's about power.
I'd like to be 100% positive and cheery about this, as anything that moves
towards universal interoperability, relinquishing compatibility woes, is
surely worthy of praise... but then... it's microshaft... the same big
corporation who in the past have pressured (blackmailed) shops and
distributors to stocking only their product, pressured (blackmailed)
hardware manufacturers into only providing drivers for their software,
forced users into needlessly paying extortionate sums over and over for
upgrades and intentionally writing backwards incompatibility into their
software, forced training institutions to using only their software, and so
on and so on.  their list of unscrupulous practices goes on and on (and
thats way before any complaints specifically about their products).  It's
just hard to trust them when they have dozens of hidden filing systems and
really really hidden files, spying on all their users, and have not been
forthcoming, nor honest, and continue to use scare tactics to get their own
way, like a big bully who's only tools in the box are theft and
intimidation.  I mean... this whole thing was their idea... so why the "FUD"
should we trust them?
before this whole cross liscencing agreements stuff...  (correct me if i'm
wrong here), is it not the case to some extent, that its easy-peasy for
propriety software to throw in any open source software into the mix, but is
much harder for the open source distributions to include propriety software
(though i know many instances where it's included), or even parts of code.
could these new lawyer jargonisations correct this?  making it easier to
have this street become a little more two way?  ...  i dont think it's so,
though think i would love it to be.  well, ok, i'd actually love it if
humanity could move beyond this silly money concept, but that seems to be a
paradigm shift a little too far for most people to imagine being effectively
functioning here on earth.
except for the GPL, the Law has always seemed like an out-of-date bumbling
ancient, sluggish in dealing with such simple concepts as digitally stored
information which can be copied with no degradation of information and no
loss/theft committed to the source it was copied from.

anyways, there's my two pence.

(oh the lush irony... writing this on a PC using winXP)
:D
On 15/06/07, Gordon Dunlop <gordon at zubenel.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> When Microsoft started these license agreements with Linux distros, the
> reason given was that is was for to increase interoperability between
> operating systems and hence a benefit to the customer that uses
> heterogenious IT environments. Commentators have said Microsoft has a
> hidden agenda and gave different reasons for this.
>
> Now, what are the Taylug subscribers opinions of what Microsoft's hidden
> agenda could be. I am sure we would get a lot of variance in opinion and
> somewhere through it all snippets of truth would emerge helping to give
> a clearer overall picture.
>
> Gordon
>
>
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>



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cause. we agree to recognise this singular truth, and this singular rule:
That we must be kind to one another, because each voice enriches us and
ennobles us, and each voice lost diminishes us. We are the voice of the
Universe, the soul of creation, the fire that will light the way to a better
future. We are one.
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