[lug] Linus's response to Mundie

[John Hernandez]

People aren't asking Microsoft to open its source or pursue any such policy, and I don't forsee them being "forced" to do so.  Slashdotters and others simply ask that Microsoft not bully competitors with its (legally established) monopolistic advantage, and compete with other OS products (free or not) on a level playing field.  Perhaps the GPL really does pose a threat and a barrier to entry, which is why there's no MS Office for Linux.  If MS is eventually split (OS and apps), we'll find out the truth about that theory.

On another related topic, I recently considered the likeness between Linux and Ralph Nader's impact on the recent presidential election.  Could Linux generate enough momentum (and marketshare) to damage the anti-trust case against Microsoft (GWB's parallel in my analogy), effectively helping the "evil empire"?  Just some food for thought.

-John

"Scott A. Herod" wrote:
> 
> Unlike most of the slashdotters, I was disappointed with Linus's
> comments in response Mundie's speach.  While I agree with almost
> everything that he or ESR said about MS's FUD, I've yet to see
> someone effectively address the issues that Mundie raises, namely
> how does a corporation make money for its owners (stockholders)
> while pursuing an open source software policy.  Which stock would
> you rather your mother have her retirement tied up in, Microsoft's
> or one of the Linux distro. supplier's?
> 
> I am not saying that it is not possible to make a business model
> that succeeds while remaining true to the ideals of OSS, only that
> I think that the rebuttals to Mundie need to address this issue.
> 
> Scott
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