Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> Is Microsoft infringing upon Xerox, Apple and Unix intellectual property?
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Intellectual Property is a term widely abused in the software industry
> | by firms such as Microsoft and SCO using it to scare people into not
> | using certain products in favor of their own.
Very true.
> | This disparaging tactic
> | has even been given a name: Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD).
Aww, FUD goes back decades, probably even centuries. In fact, probably
back to Constantine. Or Nero. Or Ramises.
I was actually turned down by Microsoft because I "didn't have the
Microsoft Religion".
Religion is the ultimate FUD. If you don't convert, you'll go to hell
and burn for eternity. If you have converted but you haven't been
paying your tithe, maybe you're not really saved. If you pay the
tithe, win others to the cause, and zealously defend the faith, you
will have a wonderful afterlife.
I'm not knocking faith, spirituality, or religion, but there are many
people who use the whole FUD, along ith promises that can't be
verified, to collect money, labor, food, even sex, from followers who
are often literally believing every claim as if it were Gospel. The
manipulation can get very subtle.
Modern day FUD uses the same principles. Make claims that you don't
have to prove, but can't be easily disproved, combining promises of
wonderful benefits for cooperation, with threats of horrible penalties
for not cooperating.
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