[discuss] irrelevancy

[Shad Young]

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 16:25:56 -0500
you wrote:

SNIP

> > I do not believe that any major corporation is being altruistic when
> > it comes to Linux. They see an opportunity to make more money, to
> > undermine MS domination of the OS market and to do it with
> > significantly less cost than to try it on their own. We, the community
> > that built, supported and used Linux all these years are now being
> > used to further corporate goals.
> 
> Arguably.  But I think this is a different point than that of "corporate
> power over Linux"; here you seem disappointed that Linux has lent its
> power to corporations as well as to the communities it came from.

No. I am disappointed that we failed to demonstrate the viability of a
different business model. Perhaps it was not possible in our culture/economic
climate, but I believe we had an opportunity to make the world see that open was
a better way. That the sharing of information and ideas would benefit us all. I
am disappointed that all we have done is, at best, created some competition for
MS. At worst what we have done is sell the cow for a few "magic beans".
 
> > > Citing SCO as an example of the power of corporations in Linux is
> > > just backward -- for all the reasons that SCO themselves provide
> > > almost daily, and for the fact of the enormous community response to
> > > the "SCO crisis".  To take the obvious example, Groklaw began as one
> > > person's response to it, and is now a community-based resource of
> > > real importance.
> > 
> > You make assumptions about the nature of my inclusion of SCO that are
> > inaccurate.
> 
> I apologize.  What did you mean?

I meant that SCO was an example of corporate lunacy that has had and will
continue to have profound and potentially negative effects on the underlying
fibre of the Linux identity and sense of openness/freedom.

> > > As for the future, what do you /want/ it to be?  The more there
> > > are pessimists who allow themselves the luxury of inactivity, the
> > > greater the chance they will be proved right.
> > 
> > Suppose you tell me how any "community" can go against the current
> > corporate trend? 
> 
> Do you really think that there's no hope?  That corporatism will always
> win?

Honestly, I think the Linux I wanted to see is dead. The ideals of it as I
understood them are gone. Perhaps it was only wishful thinking, a bit of
naivety on my part. So yes, from that perspective I believe there is no hope for
Linux. It is now the plaything of Big Business and out of the hands of the
little guy. If IBM and others had embraced openness and donated their patents
back to the community, made all of their apps open source and embraced the
freedom that comes from honest sharing, then Linux would have been a wondrous
and beautiful thing that had the potential to change the world. All it is now
is"YAOS". A tin soldier to fight in the corporate money wars.

-- 
Shad Young -- shad at ascendant.ca
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - H.S. Thompson
-------
Articles and writers needed: http://www.ascendant.ca click on "Articles"
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 196 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.linux.ca/pipermail/discuss/attachments/20040119/8614740d/attachment-0005.pgp