Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Opens Source to China
angst7 writes "ZDNet is reporting that Microsoft has signed an agreement which would allow the Chinese government access to Windows source code. This is part of an effort to curb the shift toward Linux in China due to that country's concerns regarding the security of closed source software." Reader NZheretic points out that less than a year ago, Jim Allchin swore under oath that disclosing the Windows operating system source code could damage national security.
Having read the article thoroughly, this startling news shows the flaws in the brewing Open Source Zeitgeist that is gripping the software community. Have you considered that providing software for free to countries such as China is essentially tacit support for oppressive regimes?
Far-fetched? Think about it: With MySQL, the People's Army will now be able to do multiple queries on their tables of democratic activists in Olog(n) time instead of lengthy searches in card catalogs. The bureaucratic overhead previously allowed activists enough time to flee the country. How about building cheap firewalls so the people can't get the unbiased reporting that CNN provides? Or using Apache to publish lists of Falun Gong people to their police forces instantly? I doubt that never crossed your minds when you were coding away in your parents' basements. Consider putting that little thought in your mental resolv.conf file.
If that does not concern you ( which it probably doesn't, since the slashdot.org paradigm is publishing articles about how not to pay for things ), consider something else. When China eventually goes to war with Taiwan, we want to be able turn their command and control facilities into the computing equivalent of a train-wreck. One of the advantages of Windows never mentioned in the article is the ability of Microsoft to remotely deactivate Windows XP in the case of a national emergency. Thanks to GNU/Lunix, Taiwan will be on a collision course with the mainland in the near future.
Which throws into question Mr. Stallman's motives. A known proponent of socialism, the Chinese government and RMS are natural allies. Could it be a back door to Stallman's dream of an über-Socialist United States? We may never know for sure. Next time you consider contributing to an open source project, ask yourself this question: don't you want to make sure your work isn't used for nefarious purposes? Will you risk having blood on your hands?
However, read about Chinese hacking some time. Things like "Code Red" and "Code Blue" are just two of the major viruses propagated by the Chinese. Just do a Google search on "Hacked by Chinese" sometime, if you want to do some research.
Besides, only the Chinese government (not its people) has access to look at the source, for "security" reasons. Their government, though, condones/promotes cyberterrorism against the US and its allies. (Do the research, if you don't believe it....)
The US government already has the source. (Do a Google search on NSA, Microsoft, NT, SP3, and security sometime, too.)
The American people, however, HAVE squeaked a lot and have NOT gotten the source. THESE are the people who need to be protected from viruses created by the Chinese, and others.
Also, the Chinese government (and people) aren't on the nicest terms with the US. The list of reasons is long. They are NOT our ally.
So, yes, definitely, these are the wrong people to hand over the source, IF we don't have it, too. It's a matter of security.
OpenSource == security (much of the time)
Proprietary != security (much of the time)
Open to a government that promotes hacking != security
Close to those who need the information != security
Open to a governmen