Yet another Call to Arms Against Microsoft, this time by a
writer who says that Open Source software is the best thing for
programmers since sliced bread, despite some rather curious
assertions, like the statement that Microsoft is "skimming" (which,
according to the author, means that Microsoft is charging what the
market will bear -- a Bad Thing, apparently) and that programmers
are less worried about money than people in other professions:
"Now, for some programmers, there is no burden. There is only a
community of peers waiting with open arms, trading respect for new
knowledge. True, this may sound too much like some idealistic
hinterland. Anti-capitalist, and anti-democratic, and perhaps even
communist...."
"So this may provide some idea of why Microsoft is attacking the
GPL. Software placed under the GPL is in a legally protected
domain. It can be sold, but it must be given to anyone who asks for
it. Microsoft can't take the code and pretend it was something the
company wrote itself. And this is the price that Microsoft is
unwilling to pay, the piercing of the image -- their bubble of
stolen respect and feigned competency."
"This free and idealistic community cannot exist by itself. It
is a product of speculation and spare time, from the world of the
hobbyist. No one in this community wants to stop business from
making money; they just want these companies to stop taking
advantage of the non-technical public."
