[ Thanks to brett
neely for this link. ]
“For much of its history, the Internet existed almost
exclusively on UNIX computers. Almost all of the original protocols
on which the Internet is based were created on UNIX computers.
Currently, the vast majority of the servers forming today’s
Internet are running some version of UNIX. It is therefore
sublimely ironic that when the academic self-governance of the
Internet gave way to corporate interests, the very platform on
which the network was developed would become a disenfranchised
cast-off.”
“What I’m talking about are the keys to the kingdom, the
protocols on which the Internet is based. Until privatization, all
the protocols were developed using the tried and true process of
academic peer review. No one was left out because anyone could
contribute to and freely access the requisite design
documents. Anyone was able to encode the protocols on any
computer platform. The keys to the kingdom were owned by no one,
and at the same time, by everyone. Life was good.”
“Unfortunately, some corporations have been very poor guardians
of these keys. Today, parts of the Internet are the equivalent of a
war zone. Corporations are waging turf battles in an attempt to
steal the keys for themselves, to the exclusion of all others. The
result? If you don’t run Windows, you don’t get total Internet
access.”