KG Kumar kgkumar@gmail.com writes:
I am not sure that is the "best" way. It is certainly one way -- and, unfortunately, also one that could easily be labelled bigoted or even fascist. Another way would be to engage the "enemy" in debate on the ethical issues involved -- even, if necessary, on their own terms. Winning an intellectual debate on a platform shared by believers and non-believers alike would be a far greater morale booster to lovers of freedom than continuing to preach to the converted.
Hmm. The strategy used by M$ for DotNET is something like an Injection. The needle drives smoothly inside and then the poison is injected in. They are hitting on the academic circles. Students are being targetted. M$ through its Micro$oft Student Ambassadors is doing a large scale mobilisation in colleges amongst the student community. They wrap their stuff under labels such as "M$s Open Source venture", "Open Technology", etc.. They are forming student groups in colleges. These groups get special attention from M$ in terms of CDs, magazines, books, etc.. This way they are popularizing their technology among the student community. In effect there could soon be a monopoly of the technology.
In these student groups., M$ employees/ambassadors act as if they are greatly interested in Open Source (I've never heard of them talk about Free Software) and slowly bring in proprietary software. They instill an idea in the students that its after all not wrong to produce "proprietary software". These students get to the thinking that respecting "Intellectual Property rights" and such is humanely just., and that Open Source / Free Software is just charity work. I've seen this happen right before me.
I heard that when M$ tried infiltrating into the syllabi of MIT, it had a stiff resistance from the students and other academicians. However here in India, the staff/management of educational institutions are actually loving this. They are happy to be associated with a Corporate. They are happy to lend their syllabus to the corporate to be modified to their own taste. They dont give a damn about what we strive for. This is mostly because they are not aware and do not realize the need for ethics in the software industry.
A MSA who was pestering me for a DotNET session at GLUG-Madurai argued that DotNET being an Open Standard, I should not object him promoting it in the GLUG. Once when I gave him a session (before I came to know about the problems associated with this), it ended up with how "M$ is not such a bad company after all., they just dont want the hard work of their programmers to be stolen".
The lesson that I learn from these people is to outrightly reject their requests. They are not worth the trouble.
Cheers, Joe