Another
Bytes the Dust
John Devita
 As
an American national it gives me great pride to hear that China and Brazil
have gone over to Linux. 20 years from now our entire concept of
what is a computer will have changed, while we will be doing the unimaginable
with new technology. China
& Brazil will still be using Linux when most of us will be reading
about the Linux vs. Windows debate in a history book.
Another
country down the tubes
I’m not plugging Microsoft, but imagine the impact on
the US economy if in the early 80's the government made a mandate, and chose between
CP/M, or VMS. The dot-com revolution would never have happened, and
we'd still be using one of those two operating systems.
Either operating system would work fairly well and very reliably for a
limited number of applications. Chances are we never know what we
were missing.
Making your country "Linux" only isn't a technical statement
it’s a political one. In fact, a socialist statement,
"POWER TO THE PEOPLE" would take place. Unfortunately socialism
thwarts progress and solidifies large institutions. Examples of
socialism solidifying the institutions and thwarting progress can be seen today
and throughout history. Corrupt royal oligarchies, (Most of South
America), An indifferent elitist aristocracy was placed in charge of Germany
under National Socialism. (Or even large corporate entities, present
socialism in Germany and France). The workers still become @$$ monkeys
to the power institutions. Microsoft is becoming one of these
institutions.
Microsoft in years to come will become irrelevant if they stagnate and start
to rely on using their corporate muscle instead of innovating. Some
will say they already are, others will contend that they are not. The
market will decide. IBM was once an innovative dynamic fast
reacting company. Say that today and most people will be waiting for a
punch line. Microsoft may soon share that fate, the ironic
"victims of their own success".
As for
"Open Source" vs. "Big Business"
"Big business"
is a loaded word, often used to provoke emotional responses instead of
logical ones. Every time you hear the word big business thrown about,
the person using it wants more regulations. The regulations only add
barriers to entry, which thwart competition and innovation. Open
Source or free software has a place, and can be quite useful. However
one must remember free anything, does not exist except for charity and
donations. Free software developed by philanthropists will never match
the quality, of software designed for pay. It is not often that anyone
receives better quality from a charity than from a paid effort.
Beggars can’t be choosers, consumers can be.
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