[KLUG Advocacy] Re: Now there's an idea!!! :-) -- now you're talking outside reality ...

[Bryan J. Smith]

Quoting ke4rit@attbi.com:
>    Yup, you throw everything out and start over...

And my point is that they could not even get their own application division to
write to Win32 when NT came out, which eventually resulted in the creation of
Windows 95.  And after that, I like to say, "NT became Windows 95's bitch."

So how do you expect their application division to accommodate Linux?

Now if you mean Microsoft switching to the GNU Toolchain, I'm all for that!  In
fact, that was my "recommended remedy" for the DOJ case.  It was a win-win-win
situation for developers, users and even Microsoft (because they got to continue
to develop closed source, proprietary software, and would only have to make a
few, key libraries LGPL)!

That on its own would be better.  Cygnus has pretty much got an entire POSIX
environment running atop of Windows, and all that is needed is knowledge of some
system internals to finish it off.  So you would even need to move to Linux,
although it sure would make portability easier.

The Mono (.NET for UNIX) stuff is a great idea, from a code portability
standpoint.  Sure, it won't be fully Microsoft compatible.  But at least it will
make porting easier.  In fact, it will probably be better on UNIX anyway,
because a lot of .NET development at Microsoft itself is, again, mirroring a lot
of Win32 development -- hacks upon hacks from the previous API.

>    All I know is that I can download a .tgz file and compile it to match
> EVERYTHING on my system, no mess, no fuss, no problems. If I happen NOT
> to have something that's required, then I can download it and install
> it. I'm NOT forced to accept anything...

Hey, no argument there!  But source code is not something Microsoft shares,
unless you are:
   A)  The government, or
   B)  A large enterprise, under their _ultra-viral_** "Shared Source" license

[ ** And Microsoft says the GPL is viral?  Ha! ]

-- 
Bryan J. Smith, E.I. (BSECE)       Contact Info:  http://thebs.org
[ http://thebs.org/files/resume/BryanJonSmith_certifications.pdf ]
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Microsoft states Linux's GPL is "viral" so I guess all the authors
in the US who require you to pay royalties to print their books
must be the digital "black plague."  Copyright is copyright and
the GPL prevents commercial use without a license from the holder.