Toolkit

Story: My response to Richard Stallman

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Never heard of Lindows...

Lindows is based on GPL software, but it is not "free." Sure, you can download all the source for the varous parts and compile them yourself, then sit through hours of editing conf files to make sure everything works like it does in the packaged CD, but why? For the price of an antiquated hard drive I can have a CD that "just works" and I can download all the toys I want from their website - "for free" (so long as I pay for a subscription).

Lindows has taken a lot of heat for their marketing approach (and for their founder's rep) but all in all they have a pretty nice installer and a good idea. the fact Lindows isn't "everywhere" does not mean Lindows has failed, it only means others (with a couple decades head start) have succeeded more.

Does this mean Lindows would be doomed if "everyone, everywhere" followed rank step behind Stallman? MAYBE. so what? It's not going to happen and basing arguments upon that hypothesis has as much logic as trying to convince everyone they'll burn in hell for thinking naughty thoughts.

And it's obvious Mr. Carroll jsut does NOT get open source at all. Open source is absolutely, in NO WAY, like "music" - rap, or otherwise. Try basing a popular release upon some UNLICENSED samples and see how far you get when the record company hauls you into court for copyright infringement.

No one's life (or even their security) depends upon someone being able to license the chorus from some 70's soul track. Music is an avocation, a coping mechanism, and even a profession for many people, but one thing it's NOT is a tool of utility. MILLIONS of people rely upon software - TOOLS - to store, organize, and exhange their most personal information, and even their thoughts. It has been proven time and again that proprietary tools and secrets do not guard against intrusions into these privacies.

The way to a secure future for us all - consumers and publishers alike - is through openness. To ensure that no few "superusers" have control of the only keys to the kingdom we will invent. Just as mainstream publishers have the right to protect their creations, so too must "users" have that right - for in the end, we are all now publishers, and our privacy and security MUST be our legacy.

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