Re: the best justice money can buy --Lessig (fwd)
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Date: Fri, 6 Feb 1998 03:13:00 -0800 (PST) From: mark@unicorn.com Subject: Re: the best justice money can buy --Lessig (fwd)
Jim Choate (ravage@ssz.com) wrote:
If there were no copyright nobody would have any reason to market software or much else for that matter.
So I presume that Linux doesn't exist[1]? And, for that matter, I make my living writing software which is given away for free...
[1] Yes, I'm aware the GPL uses copyright to enforce its conditions, but it's copright-free in the important sense: anyone can copy Linux and use it with no fear of black ninjas at their door.
A couple of other points. I've never claimed the monopolization would exist over nite or that it wouldn't be filled with short term conflicts and ups-n-downs. Only that the *long-term* result is a monopolized market. A point you seem to gloss over as irrelevant. Let's give the market another 5-10 years and see where Linux stands. Right now the estimate is 6-10 million users world wide use it. Share wise that isn't a lot. The reason that Linux garners so much press right now is that it is in fact an exception when an organization uses the software (eg NASA). The test will be whether it grows significantly over the long run and not the 5 years that Linux has been a serious os. ____________________________________________________________________ | | | The most powerful passion in life is not love or hate, | | but the desire to edit somebody elses words. | | | | Sign in Ed Barsis' office | | | | _____ The Armadillo Group | | ,::////;::-. Austin, Tx. USA | | /:'///// ``::>/|/ http://www.ssz.com/ | | .', |||| `/( e\ | | -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- Jim Choate | | ravage@ssz.com | | 512-451-7087 | |____________________________________________________________________|
At 08:21 AM 2/6/98 -0600, Jim Choate wrote:
Let's give the market another 5-10 years and see where Linux stands. Right now the estimate is 6-10 million users world wide use it. Share wise that isn't a lot. The reason that Linux garners so much press right now is that it is in fact an exception when an organization uses the software (eg NASA). The test will be whether it grows significantly over the long run and not the 5 years that Linux has been a serious os.
Sharewise, that's not bad for a system that had 1 million users a year or two ago, though of course it gains a lot of extra slack because it's quasi-free Unix on an affordable platform. Getting that much desktop support without running MSOffice is impressive. Getting lots of support for servers is a different issue; we've known for a decade and a half that if you want to actually build a system that will _do_ real work for you, you use Unix*, even if you use a different desktop GUI. NT has been improved enough that you can occasionally build services on it if you're desperate enough, though its stability is still less than ideal. (I never had it crash except for hardware mismatch reasons, but its networking stuff reflects the fact that MS still doesn't understand what networks are.) --- * In a few environments you'd use VMS, because for all DEC's faults, they were very strong on making sure they had software environments to support the applications their customers wanted, like factory control. Or you could use LispMachines, because they were nice. Thanks! Bill Bill Stewart, bill.stewart@pobox.com PGP Fingerprint D454 E202 CBC8 40BF 3C85 B884 0ABE 4639
participants (2)
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bill.stewart＠pobox.com -
Jim Choate