[Edu-sig] Learn to Program in Ten Years

Laura Creighton lac at strakt.com
Mon Dec 27 02:59:43 CET 2004


In a message of Sun, 26 Dec 2004 17:41:19 PST, "Kirby Urner" writes:

>I think Gnome is ahead of KDE in some ways and vice versa.  What USAers tend
>to consider optimal is:  competition.  We *want* alternative desktops to
>compete for hearts and minds, because as would-be users, we stand to gain
>from the rivalry.  That may sound primitive, but from experience we know
>that monopolies breed laziness and lousy service, which in operating systems
>translates to all kinds of problems, potentially serious ones (not just
>cosmetic).
>
>Kirby
>

That doesn't sound primative at all.  I'm on the front line of the 'keep
software patents out of Europe' war.  It is interesting that it sounds to
me profoundly anti-American.  But then I am spending a huge amount of time
kicking holes in the US Patent Office's argument that unless you reward Americans with
a monopoly they won't work, and that monopolies are the only effective way
to ensure interoperability and the like.

I am very glad to see that the USPO does not speak for all of you, and
that sentiments expressed in the October 2003 Federal Trade Commission
report  "To Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and 
Patent Law and Policy" see http://www.ffii.org.uk/swpat/ftc/ftc.html is
more representative of your views.  A steady diet of monopolist arguments
can badly distort your perceptions ...

Thanks Kirby,
Laura


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