[ Thanks to beldon
for this link. ]
“Mitch Kapor was a big deal back in the 1980s when he ran Lotus
Development Corp., a software company that was the Microsoft of its
day. He was good copy, too. A former teacher of transcendental
meditation with a studied fondness for appearing in public in wild,
Hawaiian pastel shirts, Kapor could sling quotes with the best of
them — and in fact, he was better at the game than his major
cross-country rival, a still rather raw Bill Gates.”
“In subsequent years, he retreated from the front lines,
maintaining a desultory connection with the industry. Although he
never again hit the sort of commercial four-bagger he did with
Lotus, Kapor nonetheless played a critical role in the formation of
the Electronic Freedom Foundation, a watchdog organization that has
contributed mightily to the ensuing debate about where to set the
proper boundaries between private and public interests on the
Internet.”
“Perhaps the most troubling forecast — at least as far as his
former archrival is concerned — is why Microsoft Windows faces an
uncertain future. “People in India and China don’t have $102 to
pay Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer when they can get Linux for
free,” Kapor says. That declaration is sure to bring a smile
to Linus Torvalds, who may go down as the Mitch Kapor of our
times.”