On 12/01/2007 12:18 AM, Molly Cheah wrote: > > > No Tim. That was Tims' intepretation of what is open source. Frankly,
[KSB] If (former US President) Bill Clinton could raise an ambiguity about the word "is", there is probably room for interpretation of "open source". Here are some places to read what others have to say: http://opensource.org/docs/osd http://www.us.debian.org/intro/free http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/free-sw.html I realize that I am mixing the terms "open source" and "free software" to some extent, but they both mean very much the same thing in my mind, and differences are amplified by personality clashes rather than differences in meaning. [Many movements have charismatic leaders with strong personalities and deeply held convictions - "sometimes wrong, but never in doubt".] [KSB] <...snip...> > Currently the law in Malaysia on patient safety does not recognise > statements that does or does not provide warranty of the application > (tool) used in patient care. [KSB] This is truly unfortunate. Extrapolating, under Malaysian law, if I were to create a very sharp obsidian cutting instrument, I would seem to be violating patient safety, whether or not I provide a warranty that it is suitable for use as a scalpel. [KSB] <...> Many of us wear multiple hats. 90% of the time, it does not matter which hat we are wearing, but it is critical to clarify which hat is being worn when speaking if there is the possibility of ambiguity. Also, it is not actual ambiguity in our minds that matters - it is the potential for ambiguity in the minds of the recipient as well as those who may read or hear those words downstream, possibly in a different context. For example, I wear (at least) three hats: - I manage GT.M, where we are trying to build a business based on software released under the GPL. - I co-founded, and serve on the board of, WorldVistA, a non-profitable charitable organization that advocates the use of affordable healthcare IT through the use of VistA. - I recently started a term on the board of the VistA Software Alliance, a trade group. When I advocate WorldVistA EHR, I need to be sure that the person I am not speaking for VSA (which advocates all flavors of VistA, not just WorldVistA EHR). Also, wearing my WorldVistA hat, I must be neutral about the platform that VistA is deployed on, which I don't have to be when I wear my GT.M hat. Life presents us with many opportunities to be misunderstood. Regards -- Bhaskar ______________ The information contained in this message is proprietary and/or confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please: (i) delete the message and all copies; (ii) do not disclose, distribute or use the message in any manner; and (iii) notify the sender immediately. In addition, please be aware that any message addressed to our domain is subject to archiving and review by persons other than the intended recipient. Thank you. _____________
