Roy Schestowitz wrote:
> __/ [ Ian Hilliard ] on Saturday 15 July 2006 14:43 \__
>
>> It is a well know fact that it is very hard to punish someone you are
>> dependant on. As such, the very fact that the EU has unanimously decided
>> to punish Microsoft says that the EU no longer believes that it is
>> dependant on Microsoft. This being the case, I wonder how long it will
>> take before other governments come to the same realisation.
>>
>> The day that happens, those billions Microsoft has in the bank won't be
>> enough.
>
> You must be thinking of the relationship netween an employer and a
> programmer that has become an asset due to knowledge, access, and trust.
I'm thinking more along the lines of the programmer wrote some piece of core
software "Really badly!!!" it is now not possible to get rid of the
programmer, who is a general screw up, because no one else can work on the
code. I for one believe that it is better to throw the code and the
programmer away and start afresh.
Unfortunately, there are many who believe that digging a hole deeper is
digging it elsewhere. (Edward De Bono)
Thinking about it though, there are many other cases where dependency has
required the need to turning a blind eye to what is an obvious problem.
>
> Last year I thought exactly the same thing (the context being Korea at the
> time). Without Linux and all the migration tools that have evolved over
> the years (due to demand, Turbolinux springs to mind), where would the
> ability to rebel be? This comes to show the importance not only of choice,
> but also
> the importance of the work GNU has laid over the years. There are more
> and more documents and literature that are composed to convey all of this,
> in a way that is digestable even to non-technical diplomats. The issue are
> people at the high level who believe that a platform which is used to
> write documents and (top-post) E-mail is also more suitable for the
> nation's infrastructure. Big mistake! Add to this the factor of /image/,
> e.g. man in suit versus RMS.
A criminal in a suit is not a lesser criminal.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Roy
>
Ian
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