I have been hearing a lot of stuff recently on open source software.How good it is,how it is for the benefit of the society,etc etc.Some people have gone as far as to say that using any software that they like should be made their birthright.I disagree.I know that software is needed by all people nowadays and that it is not possible for all to buy every software that you need.That is why I support open source softwares.Software whose source code is open to the public.So that they can modify it as to their liking and use it.But what i don’t agree is about the following:
I have seen that most perpetrators of the open source philosophy have a common thing in them-they all have something against Microsoft.And Bill Gates.How often have you heard Windows is better than Linux?How many times have you heard that Gates must be punished for his monopolist attitude?His inestimable wealth?That no single person has a right to own so much money?His collective earnings are much more than the GDPs of many smaller countries.But they fail to do is look at the complete picture.What right do they have really to curse Windows?Ask them what what OS did they use before switching to Linux.Windows.Why?Because is is user friendly.And it is this user friendliness that makes it so popular.I do not know of a single person who started directly by using Linux.You will all agree that the first exposure that you had to a computer was through Windows.The commmon man does not need technical mumbo jumbo.Linux might be better than Windows,but the public likes Windows.Windows made it possible to bring the computer within the reach of the common man.It is what has made”PC” synonymous with “Computer”.What was a computer before Windows?Some programming crap that was of no use to the commoner.
And about Gates,give the guy a break.Whatever he is now,he must be credited with being one of the best bussinessman and marketing God the world has ever seen.And about being monopolist,everybody is a monopolist.Mittal is a monopolist.His takeover of Arcelor has just proved it.But no one has any complains here.He is ‘Indian’ after all.Given a chance,who would not like their product to enjoy a monopoly in the market?They are just jealous.Plain jealous.
Ramblings of a Bitsian... 
September 18, 2006 at 5:16 pm
Excellent you have very well defended the MS. I am not against it nor do i deny what big corporates have done good to mankind. I also know that bil and milinda gates are doing excellent job though their foundation. this is like great kings who collect for distribution . However note history has good kings as well as bad kings. Forget about software. what a dying man need? a thing to live. for that matter MS is supporting cheap HIV drugs from India.Also what do you call charging undue price for a product? Though it is extremely difficult to define price we can call it theft?Regarding Arcelor common man will realise it latter but for your information the proce of stainless steel has raised by 50% in last one month that will exorbitantly shoot up may project cost including ours. Lastly what i mean by birthright is it will be so indispensable to human that we will not be able to survive without it.
October 3, 2006 at 11:53 pm
Another reason why we must not happily criticise Gates is his initiative to set up the Bill and melissa Gates foundation,which has donated billions of rupees for various causes including a huge grant to india for fighting AIDS.