Linux Voodoo: An Open Letter to Steve Ballmer

“The banner headline hit the web with a loud crack: ‘Steve
Ballmer, Chief Executive of Microsoft, has warned users who do not
use his company’s software, that they would someday be sued.’ I was
amazed that a company as rich as Microsoft seemingly cannot fathom
ideas such as freedom, free trade and competition. It seems that a
nascent operating system such as Linux, which you have alternately
labelled ‘a cancer,’ ‘viral’ and other defamatory terms at various
points of its evolution, is truly something you fear. The comment,
as reported, simply serves to underscore and highlight that
fear.

“Threats, no matter how veiled, when spoken in front of such a
large audience by such an important man, are meant to cause fear,
uncertainty and doubt. Some reporters have claimed that you have
claimed it was not meant as a threat, and that you were misquoted.
Well, no matter how you couch it–the quote comes across as a
threat. Threats from a company such as Microsoft come across to the
public as being the behavior of a bully…”

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