Re: [gentoo-dev] If I may interject...

[Jean-François Gagnon Laporte]

Oh please stop the FUD. Move this slaverythingie out of gentoo-dev. I
know I'm feeding the trolls but this has to stop.

On 8/17/06, Samuel Baldwin <shardz4217@×××××.com> wrote:
>
> Quoth the subject: "If I may interject".
>
> The term "slaveryware" is a little extreme, but not out of reality.
> Microsoft does take steps to make themselves the *only* operating system out
> there
Well it's a company and there are very good at using a network effect
strategy. Nobody is forcing you to use Windows but many people forces
you to have pixel perfect fidelity of DOC or XLS documents. Fortunatly
this is beginning to change.

> (heck, they are even putting Windows on Macintosh!).
Repeat after me : Boot camp is produced by Apple. Apple is using a
network effect style strategy just like microsoft to convince you to
buy Apple hardware (remember that Apple is an hardware company first
and foremost). If they can also make you run Mac OS X well goodie.

> They do not
> physically harm you if you switch Operating Systems, but they make it as
> hard for you as you can. For instance, the moment Windows XP sees ANYTHING
> else in the MBR of it's current HDD, it shuts down, and will not work until
> you replace the MBR with it's own code. This is obviously to make it harder
> for Linux users to share a HDD with Windows.
errr what !? I've been dual-booting or more for years with lilo or
grub directly on the MBR without any issues whatsoever nor side
effects affecting Windows.

> As far as NTFS, they are
> keeping that code to themselves (last I checked). Why? So other people have
> a much more difficult time reading and writing NTFS from another OS (Linux).
Do a google search on ntfs-3g and fuse. They are not keeping the code
to themselves, they are just licensing their code to the people that
can pay the fees. Recently, they even wanted to collect patent fees
for FAT but fortunatly it was agreed that FAT was common knowledge now
and it was too late.

> Another big hook to keep you on Microsoft, is DirectX. Most of the big games
> are DirectX, and will not run on anything but DirectX. (I know, UT, DOOM,
> and Quake are for OpenGL). These keeps all gamers nailed down into Windows
> (Cedega/Wine help, but my experience has been less than satisfactory. Only
> Starcraft works well under Cedega for me, but that's another story). I'm a
> gamer, I know a lot of gamers, and guess what? We all have a windows OS.
> Only a few other people I know run Linux, but even so, we still using
> Windows for gaming. If windows would release the numbers on DirectX,
> everyone that I know (at least, the gamers), would be running linux (as they
> are all interested, but don't want to dual-boot). There are a few other
> examples, but I think you all get the point.
OpenGL was the platform of choice for gaming developpement just a few
years ago. Until the decision board fragmented, conflict of interest
arised and bogged down the developpement of it's API. During that
time, Microsoft released their first shot at a universal API and it
was god awful but they kept at it until it was usable and even better
that OpenGL. Since "everybody" runs Windows, publishers and game
developpers alike follow the money for good reasons and the market
began to shift to Direct X. See network effect. They're using the same
strategy for the Xbox / Xbox 360 / XNA as we speak.

>
> In short, Microsoft tries to pull you into using their products over a 3rd
> party product, even if the latter is much better. Half of this is greed,
> since you have to pay for most Microsoft software. If you *have* to use this
> certain kind of DVD burning app on Vista, since that's the only one
> Microsoft will support (or else the computer will lock, on purpose, or
> something tricky like that), then Vista users are forced to pay Microsoft to
> get that application if they want to burn DVDs. Apple employs similar
> strategies, but that's another thread (which I'd be glad to have a
> discussion about, email me off gentoo lists.)
I use Firefox, Thunderbird, OpenOffice.org, Nero fex without any issue
instead of IE, OE, Office and whatever they have in place for bult-in
burning thank you very much. However, grandma just don't know any
better (not mine thought ;)). We just need to let them know they are
alternative and if possible provide training and coaching.

As for Apple, they produce excellent intergrated first party software
but the third party ecosystem is alive and kicking rear ends but
that's another story like you said.

>
> As far as flamewars, they do nothing but take up time, anger, and email.
> However, not every argument is a flamewar. A flame war is the typical "KDE
> vs. GNOME, which is better". This has no basis in reality, as "better" is a
> subjective term. Perhaps someone likes the look better for KDE. You don't
> argue taste. A real argument would be "Which has better support for... CD
> burning applications". Or "Which runs faster at a certain system
> specification." Or even "Which has a wider choice of customization (with
> every "aspect" having equal value to the next)". A good, logical argument is
> a very good thing, since all parties generally leave enlightened, usually
> bringing out the truth and destroying the falsehoods.
>

Unfortunatly there are other things like subjects that are completly
off-topic to a proper mailing list. Now please stop the FUD, we should
know better than use tactics like this to promote free software.

> --
> Samuel (shardz)

Kind regards,

Jean-François

-- 
gentoo-dev@g.o mailing list