begin oe_protect.scr
Goya Nut <gn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> Mark Kent wrote:
>> Roy Schestowitz espoused:
>>
>>> The Open-Source Impact
>>>
>>> It's Gaining Ground In Larger Enterprises, But What About SMEs?
>>>
>>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>>| "The biggest hurdle we face is the perception that open source and |
>>>Linux is just too difficult to use or lacks too many features to be |
>>>effective [in smaller companies]," says Rotzow. "This is why people |
>>>keep choosing Microsoft."
>>> `----
>>>
>>> http://www.processor.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/P2845/31p45/31p45.asp&guid=
>>> http://tinyurl.com/y8qoto
>>>
>>> Proof that FUD Still Plays a role.
>>
>> FUD, like all political methods, exploits the tendencies of people to
>> gossip, and to pass on "secret" information, and so on. People want to
>> be "in with the in-crowd", as the song used to say, and having access to
>> special gossip is one way of showing credibility in this way. Supplying
>> FUD into this social system is a highly effective way of using this
>> tendency to push a political agenda, or indeed a business one.
>>
>> The best defence against FUD in this way is to keep providing the facts.
>> There's nothing more damaging than showing the someone's "secret
>> information" is, in fact, completely untrue, thus the effect of this
>> social networking can be very thoroughly inverted, turned to good use.
>
> Joseph Goebbels once said, "If you tell a lie big enough and keep
> repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be
> maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the
> political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus
> becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to
> repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by
> extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
>
> It is interesting that the William Gates' philanthropist side is
> purchasing newspaper companies. It is interesting to note that Microsoft
> has been pushing this software patent agenda for a while, yet no court
> cases.
It's a disturbing trend, somewhat reminiscent of the apocalyptical SF
films of the 1990s.
>
> Repressing dissent has been through austere licensing agreements, giving
> OEM's only one choice or face unfavourable licensing agreements, etc.
>
> Joseph Goebbels also said, “The most brilliant propagandist technique
> will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind
> constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over
> and over.”
>
> This explains why we keep seeing the same recurring themes with the
> trolls. "The graphics, applications and fonts are totally unsuitable,
> garbage, primitive desktop, only a mother could love, the OS constantly
> crashes, etc." (I am being a little facetious, but I think you get the
> point.)
A point well made indeed.
>
> Greatest FUD is the Linux desktop is not ready yet for mainstream usage.
> It was useful 8 years ago with KDE 1.0 and Gnome. With the Corel Linux
> 1.1 bundled with WordPerfect 8 Suite and Corel Graphics squashed some 7
> years ago secured the behemoth in power.
>
It's a very valid observation, and one which has been made by many of
the folk here in the past. The linux desktop does not have to be good
enough to be usable, that's not the issue at all. It has to be good
enough to overcome all the FUD, which means, in reality, that it has to
have some features and capabilities which are not just ahead of what
Microsoft can do (as so many have been for so long), but so far ahead
that even the most skeptical observer, ie., he who is most convinced by
the FUD, no longer finds it convincing.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.
-- Wittgenstein
|
|
