[103794] in Cypherpunks
RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (pjm@spe.com)
Sun Oct 4 13:26:46 1998
From: pjm@spe.com
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1998 12:41:54 +0200
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Cc: Petro <petro@playboy.com>
In-Reply-To: <v04011701b239821d8135@[206.189.103.244]>
Reply-To: pjm@spe.com
Petro writes:
[ . . . ]
> Aren't there certain departments/divisions in the governement that
> only accept electronic files if they are in "word" format? (i.e. the DoD,
> but I don't have a site for that, so I could be mistaken).
>
> I know that I've never seen a Military Computer (desktop kind) that
> wasn't a Wintel/Dos machjne (talking general purpose computer here, not a
> targeting machine etc.)
>
> Sell a couple hundered thousand units to the Feds, and that is a
> considerable dent in the "level playing field" of the free market.
Check the archives! (I really enjoyed typing that.) A few
months ago in a thread initiated by, I believe, Dr. Hun, I suggested
that the best way for the government to break the alleged Microsoft
monopoly would be to stop buying their products.
Given that free alternatives are available, our tax dollars
shouldn't be wasted on expensive software. The fact that the free
software is technically superior is icing on the cake.
Regards,
pjm
