Re: Fwd: Re: Deer in the Headlights

On Wed, Aug 27, 2003 at 05:30:52AM -0400, Sim Brigden wrote:
> Dear Jeff:
> 
> Thanks for keeping us all informed.  I attended the University of
> Waterloo (mentioned in the article) and fought the good fight.  People
> don't realize some of the deep implications of Microsoft's 'gifts' to
> universities and I'll be clear:  Microsoft is at war with Linux.  They
> are doing everything in their power to capture the mind-share of
> students by bribing facutly with 'goodies' like Microsoft-only labs,
> free software and $$$.  On the surface, there is nothing wrong with
> this but what if Coca-Cola or McDonalds (for example) started donating
> to laboratories on nutrition?
	As a former professor of mathematics it seems to me that there
	is a lot wrong with it, more than simply Sim's analogy -- although
	the analogy with nutrition is certainly relevant and
	appropriate.

	M$ has a lot of money, and is focussed, as Sim argues, on getting
	heavily into academe.   The forces behind Linux -- and those are,
	or had better be, all of us -- have the people and the arguments.

My hope is that the people -- i.e. all US Linuxers who care and are
knowledgeable -- can work together to beat back M$ and its allies.  If
we can unite, even a few of us can make a substantial difference.  I should
point out that the more Linux moves into government, the greater the
need will be for training in Linux, and support for the systems.  So I
am appealing not only to the higher moral sense of Linuxers, but to
their self-interest as well.

I believe that E-lists are good platforms for organizing.  I don't really
have any evidence for this, indeed I know of no E-list which is set up,
as is linux-pe, _specifically for organizing, and which has been a success.
Can one organize using E-mail lists?  I certainly hope so; that is the
promise of the Internet, not yet fulfilled.  But it needs self-starters;
I(together with the governors of tux.org, dedicated Linuxers all) have
simply provided a forum, a platform, or a "virtual meeting hall", if you
will.

It is there for the taking.

Best wishes to all,

Alan

-- 
Alan McConnell :  http://patriot.net/users/alan
    "In an age when we talk about smart bombs, smart missiles, . . any
    talk of smart budgets has gone out the window." (Sen Robert Byrd)