Yahoo!/Anchordesk: The truth behind the MS-open source fight

Jul 27, 2001, 16:24 (39 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by David Coursey)

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."

Complete Story

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• Yahoo!/ZDNet: Open-source brouhaha: Missing the point(Jul 25, 2001)
• LinuxWorld.com: Open source tries to regroup at annual event (Jul 23, 2001)
• O'Reilly.com: Craig Mundie: What Would You Ask Him?(Jun 11, 2001)
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