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Miguel and his cache of followers created the first free desktop for linux. When he started the GNOME project with his cache of followers, there was only CDE (ugly, proprietary) and KDE (which was also non-free at the time). That move opened the floodgates for a truly free linux desktop, and is one of the most beneficial actions OSS has seen.
Rich internet services like silverlight are not room for great innovation. They should be a commodity, and there is nothing better in a commodity space to have open competition - so innovation in content can take place anywhere, anytime. If your paranoid meanderings are gonna stop you from watching the future youtubes or interacting with services we can't even think of yet, all because you distrust a (currently pretty open) specification from microsoft, then that's idiotic. The Gnash devs don't hate flash/adobe, they just wanted to be able to use it openly and spent the time and effort to reverse engineer it. Now, because Microsoft is being 'cool' for a change, the Silverlight devs don't have to - all they gotta do is code.
what miguel *did* and what he *does* are two different things. even though gnome is not my preferred desktop, i can see its historic value. (no, i don't use KDE, either)
these aren't 'paranoid meanderings', i'm an unapologetic, realistic observer who has seen one particular vendor manhandle an entire technological ecosystem for around two decades.
you really sum it up pretty well yourself. 'currently pretty open' is not good enough. microsoft isn't being 'cool' for a change. they are still a 'profit at any cost' megacorp. the ISO b.s. of this past week or so evidences that pretty well.
they deserve zero control over any standard that extends outside of their OS sandbox. i can't understand why anybody in their right mind thinks it's in any way beneficial to chase a moving target.
edit: almost forgot, you say that the Gnash guys don't hate Adobe. i know. that's why i specifically said in my post that 'their products have been reverse engineered / reimplemented over and over by truly neutral parties'. the mono/novell guys are *not* neutral. obviously.
Edited 2007-09-05 21:19
Then use your keyboard to write some innovative software instead of whining on OSNews.
As a programmer, I welcome the ability to write a .Net application that'll run equally on linux and on Windows.
The .Net framework is the first Microsoft API that I actually enjoy using, it's a good thing that it becomes an option on linux as well.
Plus it takes away one of Windows' advantages on the server side: asp.net servers.
But if you're so annoyed by other people deciding what will be in the OS you use, maybe you should write your own. Who knows, it could be the next linux...
I just hope you Miguel fanboys aren't living in the US. Because if you are, I'd hire a lawyer to protect me from patent litigation over M.$ patents.
If you didn't get it by now I hope this clears it up for you. M.$ wants to open-close the whole thing, and control the framework. Same as always.
Silverlight is exactly what it says in the name. A shiny mesmerising little light to catch the stupid flies and when the light goes out, you'll find yourself in a nice web of .net unable to move away. And then there's the big spider of course.
Edited 2007-09-05 21:15






Member since:
2007-06-28
the great thing about adobe is that distros don't include adobe products. besides, all of their products have been reverse engineered / reimplemented over and over by truly neutral parties. i can ignore adobe. i'm peeved enough that almost every distro forces mono down my throat as a default install. with the mono developers' fingers in this, you just know it's going to end up as a default install.
i repeat myself: do. not. want.
frankly, i don't care if silver/moonlight *is* impressive. i don't want microsoft fingers fiddling in my business. at all. period. ever. i feel the say way about mono in general.
i'm tired of developers chasing a moving microsoft target. absolute zero innovation. miguel and his cache of followers are the one of the most devastating forces OSS has seen. i want innovation. i don't want "free" windows and its associated frameworks. think of the great things that could be created if these people weren't busy trying to photocopy everything redmond pukes up.
geez.
Edited 2007-09-05 19:19