Thursday, May 3, 2001

M$ Declares War on OSS -- 1:40 pm CST, Update by The Master

Check this out: Microsoft declares War on Open Source Movement.

Okay, what right does Microsoft have to declare war on anything? Those losers are gradually driving the cost of basic software right through the bloody roof, and since it's all about the Benjamins, they could give a damn about the poor schmucks that have to pay the bill. Go lay by your dish M$. Open Source is here to stay. I especially like this part:

He said open source programming created software with greater danger of security risks, product instability, a breakdown of common industry design standards that could force valuable intellectual property into the public domain.

Now, considering that ANY open source OS is more secure, stable, and reliable than Windows 2000, I find that little comment a bit hard to swallow. Intellectual property is another place where I get the heebie-jeebies. Too many patents and property rights have been doled out for common-sense programming techniques over the years, and I for one am tired of hearing companies rant over their rights for things they have no right to own.

A.T. Hun comments: Hmmm, anybody nervous up there in Redmond? :) The full text of his speech is available here. The cynic in me says that MS must be paranoid if they are bothering to even acknowledge open source this much. You can sum up his speech very easily by saying, "If it doesn't make money for us, it's bad." Read it yourself and then tell me he's saying something else. I also love how he mentions the failure of companies to give away software and try to make money elsewhere, yet MS has not been above using that very model if it means crushing the competition. IE comes to mind . . .

J.t.Qbe comments: Open source software is Microsoft's biggest nightmare: an enemy which can't be bought or crushed by the usual methods, an enemy which can't be pinned down to one place or time. Microsoft will fight this war the only way it can: with FUD, misinformation and outright lies. You can see it already in this speech. Microsoft wants to redefine terms to its own advantage and then be the sole source of information: if you'll just listen to Microsoft, you'll stay away from that evil, unamerican free software. Problem is, fewer and fewer are listening to Microsoft without a fair dose of skepticism. Watching Microsoft fight this war is like watching the lunatic swinging at bugs only he can see. We're seeing the implosion of Microsoft. Get'cher popcorn here.

News for 05/03/2001

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