If the supreme court strikes down software patents with their Bilski ruling, a huge amount of money will flood Congress from patent lawyers and large patent holders like IBM and Microsoft and the super scary Intellectual Ventures, hoping to buy legislation that puts software patents right back in again.
So yes, the tide is turning. The question is how fast will it turn back again.
The term Open Source was created to appeal to the corporate types - to hide the ideals of freedom put forward by the Free Sofwtare Movement. I am not shocked to see the corporates use it as some form of marketing term - that's all it ever was. It's a safe meaningless slogan of the form "whiter whites".
As Sun is a hardware manufacturer I think this could make a massive difference to adoption of an open source operating system and to Sun's bottom line - I hope they do this. Part of the problem with GNU/Linux is that a lot of manufacturers (like HP) "do" GNU/Linux, but they are too scared of Microsoft to "do" it properly.
Sun doesn't have a notebook product range though, but maybe with a lot of people wanting GNU/Solaris that might change.
When the largest distributor of DRM says that DRM is a failure, then we know we are winning. Now lets make Jobs live up to his word. He must allow independent artists who distribute their music through iTunes to do so without DRM. He also says he supports free formats, so lets make that OGG then.
I have watched over the years as/. readers have bitched and moaned about DRM and M$, and for years nothing, nothing happens.
FSF suddenly go for it, launch Defective by Design (they even do "protests" outside Apple stores!) and BOOM they get huge press coverage, and DRM now seems doomed, and everyone agrees.
Now they have launched BadVista, huge press coverage, and suddenly everyone seems to "get it" that Vista is a DRM platform, and it will be a nightmare.
Corporations can always buy legislation - we see that all the time. We need to make life uncomfortable for the companies pushing DRM. One way of doing this is to get the artists to take a stand against art with locks. Sign the Bono petition today http://defectivebydesign.org/petition/bonopetition /
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If the supreme court strikes down software patents with their Bilski ruling, a huge amount of money will flood Congress from patent lawyers and large patent holders like IBM and Microsoft and the super scary Intellectual Ventures, hoping to buy legislation that puts software patents right back in again. So yes, the tide is turning. The question is how fast will it turn back again.
The term Open Source was created to appeal to the corporate types - to hide the ideals of freedom put forward by the Free Sofwtare Movement. I am not shocked to see the corporates use it as some form of marketing term - that's all it ever was. It's a safe meaningless slogan of the form "whiter whites".
As Sun is a hardware manufacturer I think this could make a massive difference to adoption of an open source operating system and to Sun's bottom line - I hope they do this. Part of the problem with GNU/Linux is that a lot of manufacturers (like HP) "do" GNU/Linux, but they are too scared of Microsoft to "do" it properly. Sun doesn't have a notebook product range though, but maybe with a lot of people wanting GNU/Solaris that might change.
When the largest distributor of DRM says that DRM is a failure, then we know we are winning. Now lets make Jobs live up to his word. He must allow independent artists who distribute their music through iTunes to do so without DRM. He also says he supports free formats, so lets make that OGG then.
Marketplace http://marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2006/12/2 9/PM200612294.html
No excuse for the Big Media companies not to know - DRM will not work!
GO FSF!
/. readers have bitched and moaned about DRM and M$, and for years nothing, nothing happens.
I have watched over the years as
FSF suddenly go for it, launch Defective by Design (they even do "protests" outside Apple stores!) and BOOM they get huge press coverage, and DRM now seems doomed, and everyone agrees.
Now they have launched BadVista, huge press coverage, and suddenly everyone seems to "get it" that Vista is a DRM platform, and it will be a nightmare.
More crappy activism like this please!
He's going to be shocked to find out that Vista is a DRM hell hole. Maybe Steve never told him.
Corporations can always buy legislation - we see that all the time. We need to make life uncomfortable for the companies pushing DRM. One way of doing this is to get the artists to take a stand against art with locks. Sign the Bono petition today http://defectivebydesign.org/petition/bonopetition /