[N3WBI3]

OSS PING

If you are interested in the OSS ping list please mail me

[TChris]

In other words, Microsoft is perfectly happy to use a community of developers and their talents for their own benefit, but certainly not the other way around.

[Milhous]

Microsoft's licensing ironically acts as a prime motivator to migrate my clients to open source ASAP. Microsoft acts like an IRS agent disavowing all knowledge about its very own licensing rules while demanding that I freely give my own precious time to ensure that the richest guy in the world gets every penny coming to him. Microsoft's dysfunctional corporate posture presumes honest Americans like me guilty of pirating until proven innocent while rewarding the true pirates of China with Windows source.

[rzeznikj at stout]

Here we go with the MS FUD, again. God forbid that the planet's wealthiest man doesn't get any richer...

Regardless of which camp you fall under, Matusow said competition between Microsoft and Linux is good for IT.

"Product competition increases choice, improves price through competition," he said, citing competition between Linux flavors from Red Hat, Mandrake and Novell. "Product competition is healthy."

This has to be the definitive and irrefutable point that anybody can draw from this article. In other words, since competition naturally drives innovation, everybody benefits, period. Thus, OSS's role in the software/IT economy is more than validated--its essential role was just spelled out.

On the other hand, i think it will be interesting to hear what GE has to say about this...