Not free as in freedom...
Open sourcers at the Free Software Foundation are staging a demo in Boston in a bid to encourage businesses to throw away Microsoft Windows in favour of free alternatives.
Boston was of course the historic scene of a riot against its lawful government. It is unlikely the free software crowd will riot though, and any tea will just be drunk at a coffee bar with the outrageously high sales tax paid without any question or sense of irony.
The foundation is sending letters to the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, warning that Windows is a threat to business privacy, security and freedom.
The campaign is based around Microsoft's release of Windows 7, which Free Software Foundation Executive Director Peter Brown describes in apocalyptic language similar to the Book of Revelations.
Brown said the demo has to do with Microsoft's approach in general and not with the specifics of Windows 7. However it is always a good time to have a public moan when the Vole pushes a new version, he told CNET.
Unfortunately for Brown, Windows 7 is getting fairly positive reviews and Linux for the desktop is starting to look a little too much like the Vole's ageing Windows XP.
Brown admitted that it could be tougher to get public support against Windows 7 than it was with Vista.
It looks like the Open Sourcerers were too busy arguing about which esoteric piece of code they wanted to install in the next Linux kernel and missed their chance to knock Microsoft for six on the desktop while all it could offer was Vista.
Now if a business wants an alternative to Windows 7 it might decide to go with Apple, which is even more proprietary than the Vole.
The letter focuses on Microsoft, but the group is also concerned about other products, including the new Snow Leopard service pack from Apple, Brown said. That is coming out this week so he felt it should get a mention too.
theinquirer.net (c) 2009 Incisive Media
Issue: 107 | December, 2009