21 Dec
2005
21 Dec
'05
3:15 p.m.
On Wed, Dec 21, 2005 at 07:41:55PM +0100, Cesare Marilungo wrote:
Please, don't get me wrong. But I actually fear
the day in which
gnu/Linux will have a wider success. Because I fear that this will
happen only if gnu/Linux will abandon (or at least hide) its real
strenghts and its real philosophy. Or worse it could finally become just
another commercial o.s.
For me gnu/Linux is the best operating system because it is free (as in
free speech). The fact that open source software most of the times is
better, in terms of power and versatility, than its commercial
counterpart is a direct consequence of the whole open source philosophy
and the people, the community behind it.
I think that we don't have to demonstrate anything to anybody. We should
just thank god that there are still some people who value freedom and
the right of knowledge. If we're into OSS just because we think it's
better, we've missed the point about why it is better.
Just my two cents.
I just want to put in a word to strongly second that statement.
I'm
tired of hearing this "world domination" talk, or even all the
anti-microsoft stuff, even though I certainly find them unsavoury, to
say the least. yes, it's important that Linux, and FOSS software as a
whole, do well in order to attract people and ensure that those basing
commercial ventures on it do well. But why bother about "world
domination"? is that not playing the Microsoft game in a way? And does
it not lead us to merely _mimic_ the big boys rather than innovate?
I see Open Source as building ourselves a communal house wherein we may
all live happily: NOT a chap hotel...
S.M.
--
smassy(a)sdf.lonestar.org