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Story: Unix users up in arms at Bill Gates' knighthood

  • Previous comment

Posted by: Charles Curran (Tuesday 27 January 2004, 11:33 PM)

  • Reply

I think Smithy, NY is off the mark. I, and I expect many in UKUUG and
others in the world who advocate open systems, have _no hate_ for either
Microsoft or Bill Gates.
What my submission to ZDNet --
our PR is at http://www.ukuug.org/pr/2004-01-26_Gates.html; it also
points to what UKUUG stands for --
was attempting to do was question whether it was right for the Queen/UK
Foreign Office to honour Bill Gates (with a knighthood).

If Smithy just wants to say that Microsoft is the best solution and that
open systems are bad (of course that's a paraphrase), then say that,
and let's debate that.
(http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=www.zdnet.com ;->)

(As it happens, UKUUG is not a `rapidly declining declining user
group', the membership is roughly stable, alas.
[does that double decline suggest growth? ;-) ] )

Getting back to Microsoft, I suggest reading Monday's The Times:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,2020-9080-978071,00.html
(if it is still available); to quote just a bit `Paul Smith, an analyst
at Kable, a public sector IT research group, said: “Governments all over
Europe are looking at Linux as a serious alternative at a local and
public policy level. It is the single biggest threat to Microsoft in the
public sector.” '. If you have comments on that article, why not
contact The Times' editor: mailto:letters@thetimes.co.uk ?
There is also an article in The Register covering some of the same
issues: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/35063.html

Oh, and then there's the latest EU about to get hard on Microsoft:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3432735.stm .

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Full Talkback thread

Story: Unix users up in arms at Bill Gates' knighthood

  1. Uk Unix User Group : "Microsoft's software has bee... Smithy
  2. Smithy, I can say that this user group is not rapi... David Hallowell
  3. I think Smithy, NY is off the mark. I, and I exp... Charles Curran
  4. David Hallowell :"Smithy, I can say that this user... Smithy
  5. The other point I want to take David Hallowell on... Smithy
  6. Perhaps the reason the UKUUG has not commented on... David Hallowell
  7. David Hallowell : "Bill Gates' charity contributio... Smithy
  8. Answering your next lot of comments, I have to say... David Hallowell
  9. "This is especially inpressive given that he is no... David Hallowell
  10. David Hallowell : " have to say anyone who believe... Smithy
  11. Remember I said I didn't want to see any operating... David Hallowell
  12. David Hallowell, it doesn't matter what the attach... Smithy
  13. Smithy writes: I am going to give you a quote from... James Youngman
  14. One cannot help but stare at wonder at the manner... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  15. James Youngman : "Well, most Unix mail clients don... Smithy
  16. Adebayo Omo-Dare, from your name I take it you are... Smithy
  17. Smithy, if the person who wrote the virus that att... Jonsaw
  18. Smithy, though you may speak of plundering, povert... adebayo omo-dare
  19. Ps. With regards to leaders, new/old, and corrupt... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  20. I would like to question Smithy on his knowledge a... Bascule
  21. Smithys points on the debian servers being hacked:... Bascule
  22. adebayo omo-dare asserts that : "one would say t... Smithy
  23. adebayo omo-dare : "To me what Microsoft does or d... Smithy
  24. Adebayo Omo-Dare asserts : "Here too, I care littl... Smithy
  25. According to Bascule : "Many many companies are ha... Smithy
  26. Bascule : "You also said in anything windows smoke... Smithy
  27. Jonsaw : " Smithy, if the person who wrote the vi... Smithy
  28. Smithy I think you are merely a troll. You are the... Bascule
  29. Bascule, the linux fundamentalist, screeches "You... Smithy
  30. Bascule whines: "Scalability - 2003 running on 32... Smithy
  31. Smithy, type in to google - ambassador peru nunez... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  32. Smithy, I am not at all ignorant about economic di... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  33. Adebayo Omo-Dare : "One wonders how long you have... Smithy
  34. Adebayo Omo-Dare : "Neither am I ignorant about th... Smithy
  35. smithy ' they Linux ource code was easily hacked.... Bascule
  36. Bascule :"The debian source code got stolen??? It... Smithy
  37. Bascule : "Though I agree there are far to few ben... Smithy
  38. Windows 2003 smokes Linux yet again! Figures for f... Smithy
  39. Microsoft VeriTest, a division of Lionbridge Tech... Bascule
  40. http://www.openbsd.org/ Less secure? One flaw in 7... Bascule
  41. Smithy : "Doesn't oppose the dev of Open Source So... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  42. We now go on to your issue about the Jews... Tough... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  43. Then, Smithy, there is the economy. One must say t... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  44. Smithy: "US GDP a sizzling ...." Well you appear t... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  45. One does apologise, smithy, I did mean abolition a... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  46. Bascule whines : "Microsoft VeriTest, a division... Smithy
  47. Bascule : "Less secure? One flaw in 7 years" Wrong... Smithy
  48. aAebayo Omo-Dare screeches : "Each countries gov... Smithy
  49. Adebayo Omo-Dare : "Under your principle one shoul... Smithy
  50. Adebayo Omo-Dare : "One guesses that this is one o... Smithy
  51. I couldn't find those figures you mentioned, just... azura
  52. "azura" the moronic, uneducated, semi-illiterate,... Smithy
  53. "Smithy" is clearly a troll. He has used pers... Mike
  54. "Bascule : "Less secure? One flaw in 7 y... Dash
  55. Why do you Poms moan so much? Bill Gates should ha... Michael Allan
  56. Glad to see that we are aproaching something close... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  57. Smithy, one smiles when you praise Gates for the m... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  58. With regard to your stay in Germany, Smithy, one c... Adebayo Omo-Dare
  59. hi, so what else are thay prepered to denigrate,... bryan allen
  60. I would like to invite you to this event. The cool... misterMarc
  61. Well, at the very least it's a devaluation of the... Gerard ter Beke
  62. LOL.... from what I see Smithy knows absolutely no... TS
  63. It's common knowledge that if you mention Hitler i... Anonymous

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