Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id ; Fri, 4 Oct 2002 11:30:02 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id ; Fri, 4 Oct 2002 11:30:02 -0400 Received: from host194.steeleye.com ([66.206.164.34]:64775 "EHLO pogo.mtv1.steeleye.com") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id ; Fri, 4 Oct 2002 11:29:13 -0400 Message-Id: <200210041534.g94FYdQ03332@localhost.localdomain> X-Mailer: exmh version 2.4 06/23/2000 with nmh-1.0.4 To: rickh@Capaccess.org cc: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, James.Bottomley@HansenPartnership.com Subject: Re: an open letter to George Soros Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Date: Fri, 04 Oct 2002 11:34:39 -0400 From: James Bottomley X-AntiVirus: scanned for viruses by AMaViS 0.2.1 (http://amavis.org/) Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 1797 Lines: 37 I'm not interested in disputing or evaluating any of the allegations raised in your letter, I'll leave everyone to draw their own conclusions. However, I am curious about the consequences of what you propose. In particular, your remedies. Let us assume that George Soros accepts your letter and withdraws funding from Transmeta. What are the consequences for Linux and Microsoft? Transmeta could easily collapse, thus throwing several prominent Linux developers out into the job market. Worse, the resulting publicity about the reasons would create a media circus that would be highly damaging to Linux as a whole and the release of 2.6 in particular. Microsoft is bound to capitalise on this and sieze the opportunity to try to displace Linux from the server and enterprise (the very places it currently feels the greatest heat from Linux). I don't claim it would succeed, but it will certainly try. The net effect of your proposal therefore would be to cause a stall in Linux development and hand Microsoft an opportunity to capture the Server market and the Enterprise. Is that really your aim? If you really hold true to the principles of openness, why not instead ask Soros for funding to create a company that will produce the OS you think Linux should be and compete directly with Microsoft in "the client" arena? At least that would be a positive remedy, intead of the wholly negative one you propose. Perhaps it would even give you the opportunity to see at least one of your works proliferate? James Bottomley - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/