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Free software pioneer Richard Stallman on his experience in Cuba
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| In February of last year, Richard M. Stallman, founder and president of the
| Free Software Foundation, spoke at the International Conference on
| Communication and Technologies in Havana about what he strongly believes are
| the merits of non-proprietary software. I recently learned directly from
| Stallman what that experience was like.
|
| I interviewed Stallman at length on July 31 outside his MIT office, and I'll
| post the interview on our site in the near future. Here's an excerpt in which
| Stallman talked about his time in Cuba.
|
| [...]
|
| DT: I've editorialized that U.S. companies should be allowed to compete in
| Cuba. What's your position on that?
|
| RMS: I really don't care. From my point of view, business issues are minor in
| comparison with issues of human rights and general well-being. And I reject
| completely the assumption that the way to improve people's well-being is
| always through a market. A market is a tool, and for some things it's very
| good. It can work well in some areas of life, as long as somebody is making
| sure it doesn't go haywire. One of the things we see when businesses have too
| much power is that they corrupt those watchdogs, and we see this in the U.S.
| all the time. The U.S. government has ceased to effectively monitor the
| market to make sure it works well. Instead, it is a tool in the hands of big
| business. So instead of capitalism of a useful kind, we now have extreme
| capitalism, which is thoroughly corrupt. And the results of that are
| increasingly bad, here and everywhere else.
`----
http://blogs.computerworld.com/stallman_on_cuba
Just watch what Microsoft is trying to do to Apache at the moment.
Microsoft is aiming to "kill Linux" here, not Apache. Apache, in turn, can be
made less attractive by elevating IIS on the Windows platform (watch the
Netscape-on-Windows lesson). Their problem is the 'Switzerland' that GNU/Linux
is.
Recent:
Former Microsoft Manager Gets 2 Years In Jail
http://news.portalit.net/fullnews_former-microsoft-manager-gets-2-years-in-jail_1427.html
Ex-Microsoft Manager Pleads Guilty, Sentenced For Embezzlement
http://www.crn.com/software/209400603
Corrupt countries were more likely to support the OOXML document format
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| Is this just a random coincidence? The median of the CPI index of the above
| mentioned 70 countries is 3.95. Of the most corrupted half (CPI index less
| than 3.95) 23 or 77% voted for approval (approval or approval with comments)
| and 7 or 23% for disapproval; 5 abstained. Of the least corrupted half (CPI
| index more than 3.95) 13 or 54% voted for approval and 11 or 46% voted for
| disapproval; 11 abstained - see the table below.
`----
http://www.effi.org/blog/kai-2007-09-05.en.html
Ecuador Tax Agency Closes Microsoft Branch Offices For 7 Days
,----[ Quote ]
| "We have twice requested balances, payment reports and complete tax
| information, but the company hasn't given it to us, so in accordance with our
| laws we have proceeded with the closure," the SRI official in charge of the
| proceeding said.
`----
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200710041610DOWJONESDJONLINE000810_FORTUNE5.htm
Microsoft Office raid in Hungary
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| "Such behavior could lead to the exclusion of competitive products from
| the market and violate European Union rules, according to the authority
| known as the GVH."
`----
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/26/ap3957835.html
Cringely the Unemployable on the fallacy of Web 2.0, Microsoft ruthlessness,
and the CB radio of our decade
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| Davidson: Which software company would you hate to compete against? What
| makes you single them out?
|
| Cringely: Microsoft of course. They have the deepest of pockets, unlimited
| ambition, and they are willing to lose money for years and years just to make
| sure that you don't make any money, either. And they are mean, REALLY mean.
|
| Davidson: Why do you think Microsoft is mean? Are you implying some kind of
| malicious intent rather than just ruthlessness?
|
| Cringely: Maybe "mean" is the wrong word to use for Microsoft. "Ruthless" is
| good. The company is built in the image of Bill Gates and Bill is a guy who
| gets caught-up in the game of business and doesn't typically see its personal
| cost. To use what might seem to be an obscure example, just look at all the
| various partnerships and industry consortia that Microsoft has announced
| through the years that never produced a product or even a usable
| specification. There have been literally dozens of these operations that are
| intended solely to freeze the competition until Microsoft can figure what the
| heck it actually wants to do. To Microsoft its a PR exercise that helps them
| compete but to customers it is just a damned lie. That's ruthless. There are
| plenty of other examples I can give but you get the point. I represent the
| concerns of users, not vendors, and Microsoft doesn't really care about
| users.
`----
http://blog.businessofsoftware.org/2007/07/cringely-the-un.html
[Mandriva CEO:] An open letter to Steve Ballmer
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| Wow! I’m impressed, Steve! What have you done for these guys to change their
| mind like this? It’s pretty clear to me, and it will be clear to everyone.
| How do you call what you just did Steve, in the place where you live? In my
| place, they give it various names, I’m sure you know them.
|
| Hey Steve, how do you feel looking at yourself in the mirror in the morning?
|
| Of course, I will keep fighting this one and the next one, and the next one.
| You have the money, the power, and maybe we have a different sense of ethics
| you and I, but I believe that hard work, good technology and ethics can win
| too.
`----
http://blog.mandriva.com/2007/10/31/an-open-letter-to-steve-ballmer/
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