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"At this time, Microsoft may not be sleeping, but then again it may be. If nothing else, it is distracted and we have a chance to gain some advantage here. Microsoft finds itself in quandary and a series of legal distractions."
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Folklore and fantasy tales have often told the story. Many a brave would-be slayer was crushed to death between hungry molars. It would be a child who discovered the answer. The Monster could only be killed while it slept. The metaphors are guesome and are only that…metaphors. No one is advocating physical death or injury…but it must be understood. Those who live by the computer will die by it if the giant is not smote mightily in its slumber.
At this time, Microsoft may not be sleeping, but then again it may be. If nothing else, it is distracted and we have a chance to gain some advantage here. Microsoft finds itself in quandary and a series of legal distractions. First, what to do about open source? See, within FOSS there is no one to attack as it did IBM via OS/2. There is no one to threaten as they can Dell, Gateway and other hardware and software manufacturers. All Microsoft has to do is withhold or change its licensing for the vendor and they are hosed. Software authors know very well on which side their bread is buttered . Should Microsoft decide to make a particular author’s code inoperable with Windows, he is bankrupt. Keeping all toes on the line is the only recourse for those who do business with Microsoft.
So by what means do we strike the beast?
At their customer base. The statistics are well known. Microsoft possesses two golden geese that have the halls of Castle Redmond awash in treasure…Windows and Microsoft Office. The question has been raised publically on Lobby4Linux and many other sites. “Why must everything in FOSS be depicted as a struggle?” “Why can’t we just learn to get along?” These questions are asked by the very same people who would not hesitate to kill a snake if they found it to be in their bed….and still they ask, “Why can’t we just learn to get along?”
Because a snake is a snake. Microsoft has proven itself to be a natural preditor and chooses to either consume or destroy anything that steps into its territory. That my friends, includes those of us who choose to code and publish Open Source Software. If you think this statement is incorrect, you are either a Microsoft Apologist or simply not engaged in the industry. The GPL is THE thorn in Microsoft’s paw.
Let me offer to you a piece published in 2003. Look at some of the predictions made then and compare them to what is happening now. This is a fascinating and comprehensive article devoted mostly to Microsoft and their impact on the computer industry. Andrew Grygus it seems is either a prophet or an obvious insider. He may be a bit of both. Regardless, his writing here proves to substantiate the metaphor of The Giant. And the Giant can be slain.
Good friends of mine and co-editors of a well-known Linux news website have described Microsoft’s current situation as “dying a death of a thousand cuts.” After some thought, I tend to agree with their assessment. Microsoft is fighting legal battles on a dozen or more fronts, stockholders were confined to a token dividend recently because over 40 million dollars in profits were earmarked for legal costs, and Big Business is growing more wary of the restrictions within various Microsoft Eulas. Ahhh…The Microsoft Eula. The above link deals with this nasty creature on a good level, however, a more detailed and decidedly negative tint can be found at this link. You would do well to give it a look.
So what can we do to inflict our own little cuts…that is if we so wish? Our most important role is the one of advocacy. Some of us are good at it, some of us have strengths via other means. The tools to do this job have been all but handed to us. Let’s take a look at a few of them. Not only are they powerful, they are damning to a corporation that threatens to own the computer world if someone does not do something fairly quick.
Give The Facts
A recent blog of helios ranted about how MS was hosing the everyday user. That has not changed in the past week. You may refresh your memory here. Boiled down, it states how Microsoft has gutted several small anti-virus companies in 2005, only to gain their code and talent. They then rolled it into a subscription anti-virus service of their own. This is a service that Microsoft should by all account, provide for free. They created this anti-virus mess…charging us to clean up their own toxic spill should be illegal. The uninformed Windows user should know what kind of company they are dealing with. They are being played for fools and used as a punching bag.
The eula itself should be talked about. Does Aunt Tillie know that Microsoft has the ability to climb into her computer at any time and disable it? Does she care? I would guess anyone who owns a computer should expect they own the software. Nope…Microsoft (and most proprietary) software is “leased” to the purchaser. They do not or ever do own the software. Reading further into the eula, we come to understand that if we decide to upgrade the computer with another motherboard, we must purchase a new license for the Windows operating system. Yeah, that’s right…just upgrade your hardware and cha-ching…pay MS again. You can read about it here. What’s more outrageous is the cost our public schools are forced to pay out for educating our children. Anyone paying local school property taxes might be interested in what this document has to say. How much money do you figure Microsoft is raking in nation-wide on public school revenues? Shouldn’t that money be spent on education and books? Use of Open Source software would make that a reality.
“So who’s going to care helios…it’s wasted effort. Most of these people get confused just turning their computer on.”
Well, that may well be true. In fact, I know it’s true given the help I have provided over the past few years to Linux Converts. Maybe 1 out of 15 give a hoot? OK…then let’s find that 1. That 1 person has friends and family. My family is spread all over the world, and but for one stubborn holdout, over 30 members of my family are now Linux Users. While “that one holdout” tends to be a bit of an embarrassment to my persuasion skills, the other family members are strict FOSS advocates now. If we all could duplicate that effort by even a fourth, our success would be significant.
Look…I don’t begrudge anyone being successful. Microsoft has been a stunning success and their initial contributions to the world of computing have been significant. Greed and the intoxication of total power has replaced the need to innovate. Microsoft is grievously damaging our industry. Given that they all but control the industry, if accepted, this statement has dire implications. The Open Source movement has the ability to fend off this giant….or to at least provide some balance and choice to the consumer. The Consumer needs to know what is being done to him. Yeah sure, we probably won’t kill Microsoft, and I’m not so sure that the demise of MS should be our goal. I do however believe that a couple of those crushing molars should be pulled. You have the pliers to do the pulling…I have given them to you via the above links. Now quickly…before he wakes up…..
Alrighty-Then
helios
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