I wouldn't worry to much about MSFT DRM
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| peragrin Dec 08, 2006 4:21 AM EDT |
MSFT is going to find out something soon. Their customers are stupid, if they run into trouble trying to open and move files around thy will complain. and complain loudly. DRM in combination with other forms of security isn't a bad idea. It makes sense. My biggest probelm with *nix's is that root users have total access to a system, and USER files. While the root user should be able to move, and copy all files, they shouldn't be able to OPEN them. |
| hchaudh1 Dec 08, 2006 6:32 AM EDT |
And that's the reason why the default save will be set to MS prop format. Then Linux users (I am talking people who are thinking of moving to Linux) will complain that OO cannot interoperate 100% with MS Office and so, is not good enough. Just like they do with OO's macro functionality now. That leaves us with Novell's version of OO (assuming they do fork OO) and guess what, now MS's prop code has a foothold in the Linux ecosystem. |
| dinotrac Dec 08, 2006 9:33 AM EDT |
I think we should cheer Microsoft loudly when they do things like this. In fact, we should hurry them along their way. Many businesses have a real need to go from one document format to another (say, from word->html, pdf, what-have-you), and to use documents in different settings. If Microsoft gets stupid, they will only shoot themselves in the foot. More power to them, I say. What I'm wondering is whether Novell ran over Nick's dog or something. Think mono is the dumbest thing since New Coke. Fine. Think Novell went brain-dead in its deal with Microsoft? Fine. But.... Microsoft was a nasty, vicious company doing nasty, vicious things long before Miguel and long before the latest deal. Some Microsoft stories are just that -- Microsoft stories. |
| bigg Dec 08, 2006 9:52 AM EDT |
"In fact, we should hurry them along their way." I hope they have a big team working on this now (it would be terrible if it was one of those Vista-type projects that took so long). Companies want interoperability, and they're not in the mood for games. Ballmer didn't go along with the Novell deal just to be a nice guy. You've got almost all large corporations with some Linux installations, governments demanding interoperability, and internationally MS is already in trouble. No, I don't think this is a real threat. If MS does try it, we will see a fast end to their monopoly. |
| tuxchick Dec 08, 2006 9:54 AM EDT |
dino, don't forget that a lot of people are new to these issues, and don't have knowledge of the history of Microsoft's dirty dealings. There are floods of noobs to Linux and FOSS who don't understand the reasons for free software existing in the first place. To us wizened oldtimers (well OK, speaking only for me as wizened) it's business as usual. It is our job to warn these innocent, trusting young grasshoppers as to the dreadful perils that lie ahead, and they are legion. Billgatus of Borg! Monkeyboy and his lethal chair! RMS, ESR, Bruce Perens, and all the other revered windbags of FOSS! It's dog-eat-dog out there, and we must be their guides. |
| dinotrac Dec 08, 2006 9:58 AM EDT |
>If MS does try it, we will see a fast end to their monopoly. Don't know how fast, but end for sure. It's a strange thing, but many Linux and free software users don't seem able to cope with success. If we could go and grep a Linux enthusiast out of 1999 and plop him or her down into today's world, near-sexual ecstacy would ensue. Free software is winning. Microsoft can win only by reading the writing on the wall and figuring out how to get along. It's not like the bad old days when Microsoft owned everything. Internationalization has outstripped even Microsoft. They're still an 800 lb gorilla, but folks have braced the floors and added on to the house. There is room to operate. |
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