What Do You Think Might Be Threats To The Open Source Movement?

Re: What Do You Think Might Be Threats To The Open Source Movement?

by Therese Weel -
Number of replies: 0
I like RMS as well. We need more like him.

His ideas resonated quite strongly with me and the behaviors I had seen in government and industry.  Which are evil - or in my words selfish, dishonest, disempowering and exploitative. The Blackboard WebCT patent thing is one example

I ran free software on my laptop for a year to learn linux and see what  could be done.  With the exception of Skype everything was FOSS.  My laptop was my only computer at the time. 

I enjoyed using linux  and the learning curve. It is a different animal.   I was disappointed that major manufacturers of peripherials such as cameras and PDAs dont cater to linux users. I was able to work out most of the device issues  with the help of those who had gone before me.  In fact everything was fine until I  downloaded a  proprietary client and messed up my sound card so badly that I decided to buy a new windows box to keep going.

I prefer working in linux.  No advertising, no viruses, no nonsense, if you want some software - just download some. 

It`s a refreshing change.

With that said.  The downside is the time and effort it takes to use this stuff. I would appreciate some "Coles Notes" to help me wrap my head around it.

Re-reading your first post - here is an excerpt I like because it nicely describes a key point.

While a portion of the population does make conscious choices based on values, there is a large segment which avoids self-examination. Instead, their choices are guided by expediency and price point.... Perhaps, Stallman (2004) sums this up best when he speaks of  “an "economistic" approach to all these issues, and economics, as it often does, operates as a .. [vehicle] for unexamined values.

Thanks again Julia for this opportunity to examine and express my views on this subject.