As interesting as it would be to be able to see the source code behind such programs as Windows or Office or even ICQ, is it even that important?
Windows runs like ass, and therefore it's a pretty safe bet it wasn't coded very well. I don't need to see the source code to figure that one out. And quite frankly, even if it was coded badly, as long as it were to run well, I don't think most people would care anyway. Hell, it DOESN'T run all that well and a lot of people still don't care anyway.
The only nice thing would be maybe if the source were available a few people would be nice enough to fix it up or something. Other than that, it's not too important, except for anti-trust reasons, so we can get a decent.doc handling program that's free, for example. But even that can be effectively remedied without complete open source. Even a behemoth like Microsoft could be made much friendlier through some well placed stubs, open protocols, etc.
As for everything else, source code just isn't always the best idea, or even very necessary. The government or other high security needing people should have source code, and experienced hackers to audit it. That makes sense. But other than that, to have everything done ONE WAY is usually not the best idea. That's the beauty of being able to choose a license or just make your own up-- you can choose the best tool for the job.
Oh yeah, a country where you can easily go to almost any bookstore and find a bunch of magazines that are practically dedicated to speaking ill of the US, where you can say things like that and sleep well at night, where you can openly say really whatever you damn well please about the gov't and have really nothing to worry about -- yeah, that's MUCH less free than China.
The funny thing about American movies is that America actually doesn't really *have* to force it on the world-- the world WANTS American movies. Even islamic countries who HATE America LOVE American movies. You have to remember that the reason American movies go to other countries is because there's a market for them. There's a market for them because people want to see them.
Personally, I think it'd be good if China cracked down on its piracy, domestic and foreign.
Of course, when it comes to piracy concerning foreign movies (especially American) of course many people'll pull that "Oh what does Hollywood need more money for" shit. Well, it's not really your place to decide that Hollywood shouldn't get money for something it paid to make-- and it doesn't change the fact that it's PIRACY, plain and simple.
It's the same piracy that hurts smaller, independant filmmakers who need the money-- the people who really do need the money --and that is the same piracy that needs to be stopped.
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As interesting as it would be to be able to see the source code behind such programs as Windows or Office or even ICQ, is it even that important?
.doc handling program that's free, for example. But even that can be effectively remedied without complete open source. Even a behemoth like Microsoft could be made much friendlier through some well placed stubs, open protocols, etc.
Windows runs like ass, and therefore it's a pretty safe bet it wasn't coded very well. I don't need to see the source code to figure that one out. And quite frankly, even if it was coded badly, as long as it were to run well, I don't think most people would care anyway. Hell, it DOESN'T run all that well and a lot of people still don't care anyway.
The only nice thing would be maybe if the source were available a few people would be nice enough to fix it up or something. Other than that, it's not too important, except for anti-trust reasons, so we can get a decent
As for everything else, source code just isn't always the best idea, or even very necessary. The government or other high security needing people should have source code, and experienced hackers to audit it. That makes sense. But other than that, to have everything done ONE WAY is usually not the best idea. That's the beauty of being able to choose a license or just make your own up-- you can choose the best tool for the job.
Oh yeah, a country where you can easily go to almost any bookstore and find a bunch of magazines that are practically dedicated to speaking ill of the US, where you can say things like that and sleep well at night, where you can openly say really whatever you damn well please about the gov't and have really nothing to worry about -- yeah, that's MUCH less free than China.
The funny thing about American movies is that America actually doesn't really *have* to force it on the world-- the world WANTS American movies. Even islamic countries who HATE America LOVE American movies. You have to remember that the reason American movies go to other countries is because there's a market for them. There's a market for them because people want to see them.
Personally, I think it'd be good if China cracked down on its piracy, domestic and foreign. Of course, when it comes to piracy concerning foreign movies (especially American) of course many people'll pull that "Oh what does Hollywood need more money for" shit. Well, it's not really your place to decide that Hollywood shouldn't get money for something it paid to make-- and it doesn't change the fact that it's PIRACY, plain and simple. It's the same piracy that hurts smaller, independant filmmakers who need the money-- the people who really do need the money --and that is the same piracy that needs to be stopped.