Using Closed Standards To Pay For Open Ones

An anonymous reader points to a story at NewsForge, writing "EGOVOS analyzes the recently passed South African OSS plan and proposes a great way to fund Open Source education and development until companies comply with open standards. Microsoft pays a 10% penalty until their products comply with open standards. That would be billions of dollars to Open Source to compensate for an unlevel playing field until it is leveled. All the policy guidelines for governments are worth reading. This looks like a workable plan from a credible group." Reader johndiii clarifies: "From what I have been able to see, the strategy document is 'proposed,' not 'recently passed,' and is not yet official policy of the South African government."

Comments

Deeply conflicted

[Surak]

I'm conflicted. The open source advocate in my LOVES the idea of 10% of Microsoft sales to a government going to fund Open Source. The libertarian in me says this smells like governments interfering in with free market principles. HELP! I need a bunch of Slashdot users to tell me what to think! ;)

Re:Deeply conflicted

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes Free Market principles are nice but personally I believe in Free Force principles. In the Free Market anything goes except use of force. Use of force is restricted to the police and governments. This is an unfair restriction on those of us with large muscular families and/or big sticks. Our current military situation is basically communist! Those of us who create wealth pay for the army and then average joe work-a-day-loser gets defended by it! That's sounds like some kind of socialist scheme to me! What I want, and this only goes in the spirit of the free market ideal, is that every family should simply hire their own militia. This will provide more jobs, increase manufacturing and generaly stimulate the economy. I mean the government wastes $600 on a tiolet seat! Do you know how many rocket propelled grenades that could have bought!?! So personally I think all of us who truly believe in the free market need to take the communism out of military affairs. Wealth creating families should be able to hire their own militias and as well as build arsenals for defense of personal property. Also capture of another families property through use of private force should be acceptable. Why should the government protect you just because you are too weak to defend your own property? If you can't afford to defend your own property then maybe you are too lazy to deserve it. I find there are a lot of phony libertarians out there that support the current communistic policies regarding defense of property. This saddens me. The free market is the most efficient at creating wealth. By letting weaklings survive through government protection it only interferes with the free market and progress as well as a strong America.

Re:Deeply conflicted

[Anonymous Coward]

Listen hippy, microsoft is in the position it is becuase it was successful in the free market. Since the free market chooses what's best then windows xp is the best. It's just basic economics. If you don't like it why don't you move to cuba and run GNU/Hurd or something.

Goodbye

[Anonymous Coward]

That's just asking for a Microsoft-coup to remove you from power.

Moving

[Anonymous Coward]

That's it. Time to move to South Africa.

Re:In other news

[dex22]

Dear Mister Silver,

It has come to our attention that you used the phrases "Bill Gates", "Slashdot", "SCO" and "pigs fly" in your recent post.

We represent www.pigsfly.com, and your unauthorized use of pigsfly's trade secret mark copright thingy is completely unacceptable. Please correct this infraction immediately, or we will tell Bill Gates, SCO, and Slashdot.

Or something! Muahahaha!

Re:That's great!

[Fred IV]

Dear Sir,

Although this letter will come to you as a surprise from someone you do not know before but it was based on recommendation from a friend who advised me to invest in your country that I decided to contact you and introduce myself . My name is Hassan Adedeji, I was a special steward to the late CEO of the Open Source Group in South Africa, Chairman Sanni Abacha who died some time in 2003 while in power. I have worked in this organization for the six years. It was a great opportunity for me to achieved what I got today which I believe God is asking me to write to you for your utmost assistance. I also believe that the same God will bind my words with you on trust. Amen.

To be explicit, I have secured from Microsoft the sum of US$18.5million dollars and sent it out of the country during the time of the sudden death of the late CEO Chairman Sanni Abacha. The said amount was kept in the executive guesthouse for security logistics because of how the Open Source was at war with the SCO.

At that point, there was power struggle in the country in which people in better and strategic positions made away with substantial amount of money which I was also lucky to secure what I declared to you with confidence that, you will not allow anybody to know or hear about it because it is highly confidential.

I have a percentage for you in this transaction when you give me your words indicating your interest. I will also disclose more information to you such as the particulars of where the said money is kept and the certificate of deposit which shall be sent to you as well as other relevant document.

I have inform the security company that I have a partner who will call to confirm the safety of the deposit. Please send a reply through the above e-mail box.

Yours truly.
Hassan Adedeji

Re:That's great!

[sharkey]

But who's gonna get the money?

The Human Fund