Verily I say unto thee, that chrisv spake thusly:
> Homer wrote:
>> http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2008/11/black-and-white.html
>>
>> I assume he's advocating apathy, rather than outright support for
>> gangsters like Microsoft. The problem, or rather one of many
>> problems, with Torvalds analysis, is it ignores the possibility
>> that sometimes an issue /is/ "black and white". If Torvalds stopped
>> preening in the mirror long enough to take a look around, he'd see
>> the full scale of the threat Microsoft poses, not just against
>> Linux, but in a much wider context too. The fact that Torvalds is
>> disinterested in Microsoft's unethical behaviour, particularly when
>> it's directed towards the community of which he is supposedly a
>> central part, should not mean that others aren't justified in being
>> outraged about such behaviour.
>
> Seems to me that he's just a technical person, and really doesn't
> want to get-into the ethics and/or politics of software.
I'd buy that if he weren't so outspoken, and didn't take every
opportunity to speak favourably about those things which threaten Free
Software (e.g. Tivoisation), whilst condemning others who don't.
> Maybe he just doesn't "get" that part of it
Surely someone as smart as Torvalds understands the politics of
software, even if he doesn't actually care. It may be that he's rather
insular; in a sort of permanent "larval phase", but again that doesn't
explain why he would be so outspoken on subjects /if/ he doesn't
understand them at all.
> or thinks that it's futile
Of course it is.
It isn't about the destination, it's about the journey.
> or counter-productive to engage in a war of words with Micro$oft.
Maybe /he/ believes that, but I fail to understand what is counter
-productive about self-defence. The Free Software community (and let's
face it ... *everyone* else in IT) is being attacked by Microsoft. What
should we do, lie down and take it?
That's not my style.
Maybe I/we will never win, but if I'm going down anyway, then I want to
go down fighting. Like I said, it's about the journey.
> I tend to agree with what him on most matters, except I will say that
> I think that Micro$oft is an evil, immoral organization. However,
> if I had as high a profile as he does, I may well choose not to
> discuss that side of things...
Again, I'd buy that if he didn't keep unilaterally shooting his mouth
off. He doesn't see Microsoft in "black and white" terms, but apparently
that's exactly how he sees people like me. That's not taking a neutral
stance, it's choosing a side ... the wrong one.
--
K.
http://slated.org
.----
| "At the time, I thought C was the most elegant language and Java
| the most practical one. That point of view lasted for maybe two
| weeks after initial exposure to Lisp." ~ Constantine Vetoshev
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Fedora release 8 (Werewolf) on sky, running kernel 2.6.25.11-60.fc8
18:19:58 up 15 days, 2:02, 3 users, load average: 0.01, 0.08, 0.13
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