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the only chaos in software design at the moment is closed source [ie Microsoft] - we're not allowed to see how the software is written, hence we don't know if it will work or not, or for how long - Chaos. open source gives us the source code of the software - hence we can understand - completely - how the software will operate now and into the future, and -very important- fix the software ourselves to make sure that it runs properly.
this article has much truth - but it is also cowardly.
"Democrats attack Gates' "charity"
this is a politically neutral headline - the democrats hold little power in australia, hence cannot really get back at this reporter for making them look so aggressive, when all they are doing is stating the facts, honestly. but that's popular journalism. hell, considering the commercial adversity the reporter would have faced, I have to give him credit for putting the word charity in quotes.
40 million australian [over 5 years btw - 8 million per year, bugger all - less than what australian charities receive from the Government in a month]
compare that to the profit that Microsoft makes from selling software to the Australian government - software that we all pay for in tax - it's nothing. software that has another security hole every other WEEK, jeopardising the operation of our GOVERNMENT?
our constitution is written in english, that anyone can understand.
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/general/constitution/
once you know english, you can understand the rules - and tell your friends and family about the rules, and together think about ways to make australia a better place.
the software that is used to run our government and organisations should be written in a language that is freely available and open to all people.
using closed source software [ie. any Microsoft software] is like privatising the police force - Think of the worst bastard you've ever met, and think of giving them a police badge
with closed source software, we are placing the operation of our social and legal systems into the hands of Bill Gates, [2nd?] richest man in the world. They might do it the right way, or they might take a shortcut, save some time and effort, and perhaps miss a security hole here and there or a data corrupting bug.
with open source software, you, me, anyone, can download the source code to the software that runs our government, see how it works, see if there's any way we can improve, and then submit our proposed changes to a network of people who are in a situation to make it better.
all it takes is an understanding of programming, which I kind of have, and most likely someone that you know and trust will have [your friend, sibling, uncle, child]. how many people do you know that have access to the source code of Microsoft software, let alone are not bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement that prevents them from telling you whether we're playing russian roulette with our social security system or not?
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pasocon-otaku
Last edited by pasocon-otaku on Jul-01-2004 at 17:48
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Gate's Paying A Visit
