Darth Chaos wrote:
[...]
> What hinders Linux adoption? Two words : mainstream media. Linux needs
> a hell of a lot more coverage in the mainstream media. Occasional
> blurbs on Headline News is not enough. If Fox News had any balls, they
> would talk about Linux more often. Fox News had the perfect opportunity
> to mention Linux a few weeks ago on "Studio B with Shepard Smith" when
> Smith talked to somebody about Windows and computer security...and NOT
> ONCE was Linux even mentioned. FNC : Fox News Channel or Fascist
> Neo-Cons?
CNN the other day had an "internet" and "security" expert of some sort
talking about al qaeda and the internet. She was saying that al qaeda
uses free software, and it was subtly implied that free software
presents a security risk as it's preferred, apparently, by terrorists.
Free software is in free beer. There was no explicit mention of open
source/GNU, and I'm not sure that the "expert" was aware of GPL.
It seemed to me that the expert was very close to, playing as a devils
advocate, stating that "free software is good for al quada," from which
it could be concluded that closed source software is "good" because it
works against al qaeda. The interviewer never took it this far, but it
seemed to be where the expert was headed.
I would've liked to have heard someone from <http://www.eff.org/> :)
a google search of "site:www.eff.org "al qaeda"" leads to
'Al-Qaeda sympathizers are using Orkut, a popular, worldwide Internet
service owned by Google, to rally support for Osama bin Laden, share
videos and Web links promoting terrorism and recruit
non-Arabic-speaking Westerners, according to terrorism experts and a
survey of the sites.'
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-03-08-orkut-al-qaeda_x.htm?POE=TECISVA>
Although the article above eventually offers other views, it's, to me,
an odd paragraph to write, as it implies that google, and/or "the
internet," is complicit, or somehow responsible. I imagine that al
qaeda is violiting orkut's TOS. Anyhow, this seems to have been this
CNN guest-interview-experts example, although I recall her specifically
mentioning "free software."
-Thufir
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