Tom Brough writes: > I know I cant change your mindset on this (but I have to try). > What troubles me is not necessarily proprietary software itself, > but the business practices of companies like Microsoft & SCO.
Hi again Tom, Once again thanks for the thoughtful reply - I do understand, and to a degree empathise with your stance on the business practices of these few companies (plus of course a few others we could mention!). Yet just perhaps you might also agree that not all companies are deserving of such derision, hence my concern when OSS is associated with a condemnation of all proprietary software developments; when the reality of a few is portrayed as a "fact" of all. Not only is this not factual, it's also just not proper or right. Leading from this, my greatest concern (and reason for initial comment) is that of Open Source Software loosing respect in global society's and markets when a minority of proponents condemn too freely that which they do not like, or perhaps simply do not understand in the context of cooperative software developments. Too often I find those most vocal about OSS actually have very little involvement with the concept. My own involvement with OSS has taken me around the world - from Sri Lanka to New York; from the extremes of having a machine-gun pointed at my mid-rift following and assassination by the Tigers of Tamil, to the horrors of the Tsunami intermingled with the glorious splendour of a Thai Andaman Sea sunset, to the daunting halls, professors and other academics of Harvard University where only last month I promoted our OSS offerings to a global gathering of humanitarian aid and disaster experts - Believe me, for a "boy from the Aussie bush" who travelled little beyond my country prior to an involvement with OSS this is a truly amazing, if personally very expensive journey... Yet greater than all of this the knowledge that our little OSS software project; the software I am involved with and along with other developers share a distinct passion, is right now helping people in Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and other disaster stricken communities right around the world. In a very tangible sense we are using OSS to help people survive and return their lives to normality. So Tom when you state that "I know I cant change your mindset on this but I have to try"... Please be aware that my mindset is very supportive of OSS, but through experience in this world of practicalities I also acknowledge that OSS is only a tiny subset of a much greater humanitarian effort; an effort that to be successful relies just as strongly on understanding and acceptance of the altruism inherent in a lot of proprietary software developments. I guess for me the bottom line here is that whilst I acknowledge your singular ideology, unfortunately I don't have the luxury of being able to share it, and continue to fear the potential for damage in such a singular focus. Who knows, maybe given enough time and effort I might even change your mindset to one of understanding the bigger picture where OSS and proprietary code together offer benefits to humanity :-) Cheers, Don _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
