Re: Linux for Kids

From: chris (chrisehunter_at_NOSPAMblueyonder.co.uk)
Date: 03/12/05 

Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 11:13:08 GMT

Mxsmanic wrote:

>> I've had algorithms and methods stolen by MS, as have any number of
>> other software innovators.
>
> Why didn't you sue?

Because Bill could buy and sell me a million times over - the "legal system"
doesn't rely on the truth or accuracy of a claim, it depends on how much
money you have to spend.

>> This is one of the risks of the GPL - anyone
>> can steal your work and claim it as their own.
>
> If they are using it legally under the GPL, they didn't steal it. If
> they are using it illegally, you can sue them and make lots of money.

No you can't - see above.

>> He wanted a "minix-alike", but without the expense. That's what he
>> achieved. There was no theft of intellectual property.
>
> I seem to recall that SCO felt differently.

The SCO "case" is just specious nonsense. As soon as the current claim
fails (as it surely will - IBM are much richer than SCO, and MS can't be
seen to be financing the action), they are going to have to go after
someone else. BSD might be the next choice (along with Apple).

>> It might look similar, but it doesn't rely on actually stolen code.
>
> Opinions differ on that. There's also the question of patents.

There are "opinions" and there are truths - I'll see your opinion and raise
you a couple of truths. Software patents are largely unenforceable, which
is why MY patented algorithms (which have now expired) could be stolen
(while they were still in force) by a certain large USA-based corporation,
and I could do nothing about it.
 
>> MS haven't invented any original code, but have persisting in buying and
>> stealing from real innovators.
>
> No more so than any other company. I don't know of any company that has
> built anything entirely from scratch.

Perhaps you should examine the origins of Unix.
 
>> Business users are leaving Windoze in droves.
>
> No, they are not. Windows is still just as dominant as it has always
> been.

It might be in your neighbourhood, but in the rest of the world, people are
waking up to proper operating systems and better quality software.
 
>> They're fed up with the
>> insecurities and unreliabilities of MS products. The next generation
>> certainly won't be using anything MS-based.
>
> Windows has been in use for 20 years; there's a good chance that
> something very much like it will still be in use 20 years from now,
> especially since the inertia of the computing industry is far greater
> now than it was two decades ago.

The only inertia is due to Microsoft. They have stifled innovation since
Bill first turned up with "his" Altair Basic, and he tried to have his
family sue anyone who made an "illegal" copy. Until then, software and
operating systems had been largely free.
 
>> Don't waste my time.
>
> You don't have any benchmarks, and I was just calling your bluff.

What "benchmarks" do you want? We connected a Dell Poweredge box to the
outside world, running their pre-installed Win Server 2003. It was
compromised in under four minutes, and the first crash was at 20 minutes
and a few seconds.

After some haggling, Dell refunded the price of the pre-installed crap, and
we installed a proper OS on it. It has been happily running as a web and
fileserver for almost a year (without a single reboot) and has rejected any
and all attempts to gain spurious access.
 
>> So if you prefer Windows or Mac, go away and play with your toys, and
>> leave this newsgroup to the rest of us.
>
> Oh, but I like talking about those toys here.

So you ARE a troll then.
 
> Like Photoshop?

Don't "like" Photoshop at all. It's abysmal. It's expensive, huge, slow,
unreliable, and doesn't produce the degree of quality required by MY
company's printshop. We use MUCH better software, all of which is
available free on the 'net.
 
C. 

-- 
Everything gets easier with practice, except getting up in the morning!

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