____/ Mark Kent on Saturday 29 March 2008 19:10 : \____
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> ____/ Doug Mentohl on Thursday 27 March 2008 13:53 : \____
>>
>>> "Outside the United States, open source is seen from a public policy
>>> perspective as a fundamental good", Jim Whitehurst, Red Hat President/
>>> CEO ...
>>
>> The problem here is that Whitehurst characterises it as a stance against the
>> US rather than PRO Independence, PRO control, PRO local labour. It's not a
>> matter which is associated with the States. It could be any other country...
>> people just want it to be theirs... they want to /own/ the code... it's not
>> a matter of America choosing one policy over another, software patent lunacy
>> aside.
>>
>
> I'm not sure that Whitehurst is doing the characterisation, rather, I
> think that he's reporting same as a problem.
Yes. Watch his words (heh. Listen rather). It's something along the lines
of "we happen to benefit from the fact that there is anti-American sentiment,"
but I think he ought to have emphasised a different point to make it harder
for 'MSPress' to take out of context (portraying Red Hat as rebels).
> As you say, owning your own code, or for that matter, your services, is
> fundamental to preventing vendor lock-in.
I guess the 'anti-American' sentiment is that of 'anti-possessiveness'. Many
other countries praise culture (sharing is the fundamental basis for
traditions, folklore) while Americans are believes to cherish corporations
(it's a matter of upbringing, or so I'm told). To put this differently,
someone from the States explained to me why people get together in malls
(shopping) rather than in 'spendings-neutral' venues... maybe even outdoors.
Again, I apologise for any generalisations made here. That's just the bunch of
views I hear from Free software enthusiasts in the US, whose culture is more
hostile towards FOSS.
--
~~ Best of wishes
"Monopoly raises two classes of problems for a free society. First, the
existence of monopoly means a limitation on voluntary exchange through a
reduction in the alternatives available to individuals. Second, the existence
of monopoly raises the issue of “social responsibility”, as it has come to be
called, of the monopolist."
--Milton Friedman
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