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Red Hat Opens Lobbying Office Near DC
wiredog writes "From Government Computer News comes this story about Red Hat's new lobbying office near Washington DC, and mentions that RHEL 4 will have Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 4 certification."
In Foggy Bottom, so that we could call them Fog Hat.
Adopt pre-emptive strike doctrine.
Now Red Hat can play DC like the big boys!
Bob Young: Thanks for meeting me for lunch, Congressman.
Congressman: My pleasure.
Bob Young: [passing envelope under table] Have you thought about the silly bills the proprietary software people want passed?
Congressman: [counting cash] Yes, and frankly Mr. Young, I think Open Sauce is the only way to go!
Bob Young: Source. Open Source.
Congressman: Gotcha.
Trolling is a art,
Lobbiny is bad! Corrupt corruption! Evil money is influicing politics.
This is wrong. Where is the department of justice? Lobbying is not even taintamount to bribery, it is bribery!
What? Ohh... sorry.. thought this was an article about Microsoft, SCO, or Sun... my bad.
Go RedHat!
While Microsoft will have nothing of the sort, unless they've lied through their teeth, yet the US Government still will used hundreds of thousands of instances of Windows on PC's throughout countless bureaus.
RedHat will lobby, "Look, we have a totally transparent operating sytem, if it is in any way compromised it will likely be fixed in less than 24 hours and we can work with you to handle logistical details of patching all necessary computers. In the long run we're cheaper, reliable and immediately accountable." To which, a government all to used to chutzpah and hubris over the past few years will reply, "We don't like transparency, haven't you learned anything by now? Clearly our Great Benefactor in Redmond is a better patron and we totally believe him when he tells us that insurgents are behind exploiting security holes."
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
a company is a company
no matter what they make
no matter what they sell
no matter who runs it
no matter who works for it
no matter how exceptional they may seem or may be
business is still business,
they always turn out the same way in the end, always.
I really can't think of any bad that can come from this. Hopefully it will improve the visibility of Linux for people who make decisions. In certain cases, people might not even know that linux is an option. Hopefully this new division can help fix that.
The article does make a good point with the Exchange servers though. It's been mentioned here before..., but Linux does need some better connectivity with Exchange to help sell some of the people who already have large systems already set up be more comfortable with the idea of Linux.
I store my recipes online (the way nature intended)
Shouldn't the OSDL have an office so that IBM, Redhat and all the others can lobby together instead of separately?
Is there even an OSDL lobby?
This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
Sorry, I don't like Linux companies trying to get special favors from the government any more than I like Microsoft doing it. Now you might argue that Linux, being the underdog, deserves to try to balance things in Washington. Using that argument, it would be okay for a poor kid to shoplift because he needs it. Doesn't make it right.
on the one hand...i like the fact that there is a company there that can counter microsoft's lobby.
but on the otherside...i firmly believe that this is what is so horribly wrong with our government.
lobbying by corporations seems to have made lawmakers more responsible to the lobbyist rather than the constituent
Is it 5:30 yet?
If they hope to out-lobby MSFT, they'd have better luck putting their money into a toilet and pushing the flush handle. I hope they have a legitimate strategy to justify this move.
Tux loves Jesus too! Kidding...kidding.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
For example, consider the tale of the Windows 2000 EAL4 evaluation.
There's lots of Linux in government, but it's mainly on the server side. Or with agencies that don't want to leave a paper trail of what they've bought 9and from whom) and who consider protecting their data to be the highest priority.
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With M$ tethered to the viciously unpopular offshoring issue, this move just makes sense; "How can you justify giving taxpayer dollars to companies that are hell-bent on shipping your constituent's jobs overseas?". They should have been asking this question a _long_ time ago.
Sorry, I don't like Linux companies trying to get special favors from the government
Special favors? That's a whole other thing. Establishing a lobbying office is just one step towards getting seen and heard (as opposed to remaining unnoticed).
For a Linux company to obtain special favors would require more than an office.
I hate to point this out, but historically when a company reaches this level they are more likely to be assimiated into the status quo than to change it.