This column is nuanced enough that we'll warn you there isn't an
appropriate three 'graph excerpt. Mr. Coursey argues that the
reaction of open source backers to Microsoft is understandable,
even if it's intemperate and sometimes laden with unreasonable
demands. There are hard words for both sides.
"The upsurge in free software, represented by Linux and
the intense media attention to licensing issues, is a valid
reaction to a company that has achieved too much dominance. This is
an anti-Microsoft backlash, plain and simple. You can see more than
a hint of the protests that have been taking place lately whenever
the world's economic powers have gathered.
However, the solution isn't to dismantle the current way of
doing things and replace it with something that, over time, will
become equally oppressive.
What this debate, the federal courts, and many of you are
telling Microsoft comes down to this: It needs to find more ways
for everyone to participate in its success and to make a whole
industry, rather than just Microsoft itself, flourish."