[lug] Microsoft outlaws open source with .NET

[Deva Samartha]

Microsoft associates the terms "viral" and "virus" with GPL-ed software. 
This is a clever move to discredit open software.

It associates something bad - viruses - with software and the only blob in 
the head of people which exists as a "virus with software" is something 
causing your computer to crash and is to avoid.

If they succeed to create this association - open software = computer virus 
in the head of people it is going to be a big disadvantage.

They are very powerful, have a 30 billion $ warchest, MSNBC and there has 
been at least one case where news about Microsoft has been edited and 
reported differently on MSNBC.

One can expect more subtle manipulation with strengthening the association 
of virus and open software.

Counter measures should be taken to ward this off.

What does a virus? Sucks your energy.

Somewhere I heard that Bill Gates net worth is equivalent to the net worth 
of a considerable percentage ( > 10%, < 20%) of the lower part of the US 
wealth pyramid.

Talk about a sucker!

(If anyone has more info on that, could you please email me - it must have 
been on KGNU, maybe counterspin).

Actually, I suspect for a long time that Microsoft is playing the virus 
thing to cover up their own bugs crashing their software, but that's 
another topic.

Samartha

At 07:01 PM 7/6/2001 -0600, you wrote:

>While appreciating the humor of the above statement, when MS is talking
>about viral software, they don't mean the stuff that deletes files, clogs
>email systems, etc. They are talking about the stuff with licenses that make
>the software "free". Stuff like GPL, Perl Artistic, Mozilla, etc. The
>notable exception is the BSD-style license, which is acceptable to MS.
>
>Ken