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Linux & Microsoft as a Cold War?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the now-thats-serious-flamebait-1 dept.

I confirm writes "The BBC's Bill Thompson summarises the GNU/Linux vs. Microsoft struggle as a "cold war", and in one choice quote says:"It is rather ironic that Microsoft and other closed model companies rather resemble the Stalinist or Maoist model of a command economy with complete centralised control." I'm not sure I accept Thompson's conclusions, however: "So now would be a good time to start thinking about how we persuade governments that market in software may eventually need to be regulated, just as the market in electricity, water and food is, and that that regulation may well include a statutory duty to disclose source code and allow it to be used elsewhere." "

5 of 443 comments (clear)

  1. Media Desperation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Sounds like a BBC writer had a deadline to fill with sensational pap. If he wanted controversy, perhaps Microsoft=Catholicism and Linux=Scientology would have made for a more interesting read.

  2. ACK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    thats true.

  3. If this were a cold war... by Zakabog · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft would have thousands of nuclear weapons, except they would constantly explode in their own silos. Everyone would have an easy to use rifle (with baby blue color theme), but only a handfull of people will be able to keep the rifle out of enemy hands, everyone else will just leave it lying around outside cause they're too lazy (or stupid) to secure it anywhere.

    Linux would have some great weapons but only 20 people would know how to use them, 12 of these people would have them loaded correctly, 5 will accidentally shoot themselves in the face, 2 would use the guns of the people who shot themselves in the face, and continue to shoot those people in the face, and the last person would develop a new loading mechanism and distribute it to everyone so they now have to figure out how to load it all over again.

  4. Re:Cold war proxy wars... by FyRE666 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Damn. I sank to the level of the Slashdot editors. Submitted a dupe and then boasted about it... oh, the shame of it.
    On the bright side, my six-month old daughter just learnt to say "blehsughhx" and stick her tongue out. I bet that wasn't posted to Slashdot yet.
    Your daughter posted it, last Wednesday...

    --
    Code, Hardware, stuff like that.
  5. And we will know the end of the Cold War is near by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...when RMS stands up and declares, "Mr. Gates, tear down this blue screen!"