[LUGSB] What makes Linux great?

[John R. Hover]

Uh oh. I really hate to do this, but I feel a rant coming on...

Does this seem odd to anyone? Even if this were an honest, good-faith 
inquiry, which I doubt, it is still equivalent to someone knocking on 
your door and asking "Excuse me, would you be willing to share with us 
what would be the most effective and efficient means, in terms of 
scheduling and weaponry, to kill you and your family?" I would hope your 
answer would be to say "Um. No." and politely ask them to go away.

Some folks here may, in a spirit of peaceful cooexistence and friendly 
competition, say to themselves "Hey, we're all here to make software. 
Let's all do the best we can and let the users choose. If Microsoft 
solicits my advice about technology, I'll be happy to chat with them. 
Let the best software win."

What this attitude misses is that neither Microsoft nor any other major 
joint-stock corporation exists to provide a service to their customers. 
They exist to transfer wealth from customers to stockholders. Anything 
else that happens is a side effect. If a business sector is well 
regulated ( either directly by government, or indirectly by the threat 
of competitor lawsuits ), then useful goods and services tend to be 
produced. Some sectors, because of the nature of their products or 
services, may remain healthy markets without a lot of regulation at all. 
But I think everyone here can acknowledge that the OS market doesn't 
fall into any of these categories.

MS has identified Linux as a major threat to their core business, 
therefore they have a legal responsibility to their stockholders to do 
*anything* (that they won't be found criminally liable for) to destroy 
it. Period. Submarine patents, nuisance copyright lawsuits, 
disinformation campaigns, dishonest political lobbying (is there any 
other kind?), fake grassroots letter-writing, vendor arm-twisting, etc. 
If you don't already know about it, educate yourself on Microsoft's 
corporate history with respect to Apple, Be, Netscape, WordPerfect, Real 
Networks, etc. MS does not, and cannot, take the position of "let the 
best software win."

This time, MS has simply noticed the effectiveness of the open source 
collaborative development model and is "studying Linux to learn how it 
has been able to maintain a high level of consistency in the kernel 
while groups around it maintain maximum flexibility"
	http://www.itworld.com/Comp/2444/031216msunit/

People, don't kid yourself. If they can find a way to effectively 
emulate that model while retaining competitive advantage, they will use 
it to destroy us. It's possible they'll manage to do it anyway. Please 
don't *help* them. Don't act like you're being invited to a friendly 
touch-football game; the other team is bringing machine guns.

I have no idea what Mr. Surkan's personal idea of his role is at 
Microsoft. He is ( or has been ) the program manager for networking and 
is thus probably a talented engineer. He has claimed on another list 
that quizzing Linux users doesn't have anything to do with his "day job": 	
http://lists.gslug.org/pipermail/gslug-general/2003-November/000086.html

He may be a perfectly nice guy who is genuinely excited to make good 
software and work with new technology. But if he thinks his *job* is 
actually to make good software and "help his customers," he's living in 
la-la land. And if he know's it isn't, then he should be ashamed of 
himself and take his talents to a smaller company, preferably privately 
held, where there may still be some human self-respect and thus at least 
a half-hearted attempt to play within the stated rules of the game.

Sorry to be blunt, but Mr. Surkan should at least be honest with 
himself: Just because you haven't been punished for a crime doesn't mean 
it isn't illegal. Even if something is technically legal, doesn't mean 
it is right. And just because you've never directly participated in the 
illegal/immoral activites of the company you work for hardly makes you 
ethical.

Am I taking an unreasonably righteous position here? I hope not. I 
understand that all sorts of decisions in life may involve moral 
compromises and tough ethical judgements that decent people may differ 
on. And I understand that business in the U.S. is a rough-and-tumble 
hardball game. But come on, if you're an executive at a tobacco company, 
a drug rep for a pharmaceutical company, or a manager at Microsoft, 
you've *clearly* stepped way over the line.

Mr. Surkan, please look in the mirror and ask yourself what kind of 
bald-faced duplicity it takes to walk up to people and ask them what the 
best way to destroy them is. Because that's *exactly* what Microsoft 
will do with any useful information you may get from us and other LUG 
mailing lists. Is that why you went to college? Is that what you want 
your kids to know you did for a living when they finally get old enough 
to recognize the role Microsoft played in the world from 1985-2003+? Is 
the money *that* good?

In any case, my answer is "No, I don't want to help you." Now please go 
away.

Cheers,

--john


Michael Surkan wrote:
> I am a program manager at Microsoft doing some research around how we
> can improve our operating systems. My goal is to help us identify
> capabilities, improvements, and features that Microsoft should be
> focusing on to help our customers over the next 5 years or so.
> 
> I am particularly interested in hearing from Linux users, and get their
> input about what they feel should be the priorities. In particular, I
> would like to better understand what it is that makes Linux and Open
> Source solutions so useful for you.
> 
> If you would be willing to take a survey I have put together, please
> write me at lnq at microsoft.com.
> 
> Thanks,
> Michael Surkan
> 
> P.S. I did confirm with Mark Dragothat it was ok to post this note.
> 
> 
> 
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