Comments on: Novell plugs open source, dings SCO

A Novell executive says the intellectual property foundations of open-source software are sound. "Sorry, Darl," he says in a jab at SCO chief Darl McBride.

[mlambert890]

The spin is on...

It's strange to hear the spin a company like Novell or
IBM will use
to try to push Open Source. It's also funny to see high
power
CEOs pretend they are "one of the radicals" in an
attempt to cozy
up with the techno-geeks they assume will be
influencing IT management to push towards Linux.

If Open Source is "better" than proprietary software
because, in
their words, "no boss is telling the programmers what to
do",
then why should anyone buy *anything* from a Novell
or an IBM?
Wouldn't their supposed "value add" products be
deficient in
comparison to the inevitable Open Source alternatives
BY THEIR
OWN ADMISSION? Talk about a double standard!

Beyond that, though, is this strange notion that as an IT
person,
I should be comforted by the fact that my OS is in the
hands of
people who have no real vested interest beyond "a fun
hobby"
compelling them to develop.

Of course IBM and Novell have an answer to that I'm
sure... "Buy
our Linux distro because, you know, the OS doesn't
matter and
Open Source code is better because its made by
unpaid hippies
but, at the end of the day, you still need someone who
works for
a living to have some skin in the game if you're going to
bet
your business on it."

Oddly enough, I don't find this rallying cry too inspiring...

would you rather?

Maybe you get more comfort out taking whatever is handed to you sight unseen because it comes from an established company even if you know it is full of security bugs, faulty cide and an open invitation
to script kiddies to try out their virus tool of the day?

proof is in the pudding

I run both Windows and Linux machines in my office.

The Linux boxes are restarted when I choose to restart them or when there is a hardware failure.

The Windows boxes are restarted when Windows freezes or crashes.

[John Kuzak]

push towards Linux

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