B Gruff wrote:
> High Plains Thumper wrote:
>
>> This is something that felt would be coming, and it did.
>>
>> https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
>>
>> CIA World Fact Book:
>>
>> European Union ?
>> GDP (purchasing power parity): $12.18 trillion (2005 est.)
>>
>> United States ?
>> GDP (purchasing power parity): $12.31 trillion (2005 est.)
>>
>> European Union IMO wants to compete and establish
>> independence from other world markets. Its economic power
>> at least from what the CIA states is equivalent in buying
>> power to the US. I have a feeling that Europe will become
>> the Open Source driver.
>
> You just said a mouthfull.
> I believe that the "establish independence" bit is
> absolutely key.
>
> imo, it's not a question of "competing" on the OS,
> replacing one tyrant with another, but rather a completely
> new model. At the moment, Europe (and everybody else, but
> Europe in particular) depends on a single source of supply,
> a single company, which is centred in a foreign country.
> All development, all new direction, all changes, are done
> at the whim of what is best for that company and its bottom
> line, and any limitations on the power of that company is
> at the whim of that foreign country.
>
> There's no doubt in my mind that for many years to come,
> the U.S. will be central or at least a big player in IT,
> but the (forced, if needs) adoption of an Open OS and of
> Open Standards would change the picture from something
> which is totally unacceptable to something with which
> everybody would be happy.
>
> All the puerile arguments here re. who has the best fonts,
> whether or not DVDs play, who has the best games, who has
> the drivers, are trivial by comparison.
US may play a role as we have IBM and other Linux friendly
vendors, interested in a role.
Actually Europe has little other choice but to embrace Open
OS's, as both Microsoft and Apple are US based. Linux has
enough "foot in the door" that it would be a natural to
overtake the other two.
There are some amnomolies such as France with their DADVSI.
However, EU by centralising some IT policies could
effectively make it work.
I think EU can pull it off, as EU is exercising independence
from US politics as illustrated in:
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39283617,00.
htm
or http://tinyurl.com/y4klm4
| US Government 'lobbied EC' over Microsoft fine
| Richard Thurston ZDNet UK
| Published: 26 Sep 2006 13:30 BST
| Kroes said the US embassy in Brussels had asked her to be
| "nicer" to Microsoft ahead of her decision to fine the
| software giant ?280m in July.
|
| The commissioner criticised the approach. "This is of
| course an intervention which is not possible," Kroes told
| Dutch newspaper Financieele Dagblad this week.
|
| When asked if she was annoyed by the Embassy's approach,
| she said: "In my work, I cannot have a preference. I have,
| however, a personal opinion, but that is for Saturday
| night."
|
| Kroes' spokesperson added in an email to ZDNet UK on
| Tuesday: "We can confirm that she was lobbied and that she
| did not appreciate it."
--
HPT
|
|
