More From Titch Next Week?
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| dcparris May 25, 2006 4:31 PM EDT |
Steve shot me an e-mail a little while ago. He's plans to revisit this issue next week. As I told him, I can hardly wait. |
| Scott_Ruecker May 26, 2006 5:32 PM EDT |
How far can he bury his foot in his mouth this time? Or is he used to the taste by now? |
| dinotrac May 26, 2006 5:46 PM EDT |
Scott - Titch is the sort you need to be careful about. From what I've seen so far, I can't tell if he's especially smart or not -- and that concerns me. There's an argumentitive trick (and a teaching trick) called hiding the ball. You lead your opponent in one direction, allowing them to bite hard on the bait. You don't even care if you get whipped because your actual goal is elsewhere. The idea is that the other guy is now driving so hard, he never sees the switch coming. You're prepared and you even use his persistance as evidence for the real point you want to make. Titch doesn't care how free any standard, format or license is. He doesn't care about us. He has one goal and only one goal: To deliver the message that the state's policy will increase costs to the state's taxpayers without providing a significant benefit. The truth, of course is just the opposite. The state's policies will create opportunities for Massachusetts business that do not exist today, or that get funneled westward by default. |
| dek May 26, 2006 6:05 PM EDT |
>He has one goal and only one goal: To deliver the message that the state's policy will increase costs to the state's taxpayers without providing a significant benefit. Dino, I think you are right on here. It's what I've been feeling all long but couldn't quite put into words. Thanks for putting it so succcinctly!! Don K. |
| Scott_Ruecker May 26, 2006 11:16 PM EDT |
dinotrac: Thank You for your concern but I have seen his kind before. And you are right, he thinks he's hiding the ball. I will keep myself in check for the sake of others though, that is the right thing to do. Understand, I have been in way to many 'fights' so to speak to be afraid of someone like him. I have seen too many like him to flinch now. I went to high school in NYC, his 'game' doesn't have jack on the guys I had to deal with back then. :-) Still, Its nice to know that you care about me though. Your so good to me, since the baby came. LOL!! |
| dinotrac May 27, 2006 3:15 AM EDT |
Scotty - You needn't behave yourself. We just need remember what he's really all about and not be surprised at the twists to come. The thing I'm curious about is why he's bothered to engage Don. I'm not sure what purpose it serves, although several possibilities come to mind: 1. It's fun to argue. 2. It draws out arguments and lets him try out replies in a forum that his real audience is unlikely to see. 3. He's trolling for ammunition. 4. He's keeping the argument where he wants it for now. 5. He actually believes the things he's writing, and any connection with Microsoft has more to do with their supporting someone who supports them rather than the other way around. Any combination of those, including all of the above could be true. As to caring about you --- Well, Scotty, somebody has to do it! |
| dcparris May 27, 2006 5:29 AM EDT |
Dont forget #6 - people love to see a good fight. But also, he has engaged me since I've been keeping him posted on what I'm saying over here. I keep shooting him e-mails in something of an "in your face" fashion. Things to the effect of "you need to stop misleading your audience", "you should get your facts straight", etc. Since we know his ability to influence his audience depends on his reputation for getting his facts straight, I'm sure it's a bit un-nerving to have someone like me pestering him like I have been. If he happens to see the light, that will be an added bonus. |
| number6x May 27, 2006 6:32 AM EDT |
Don. First, thank you, everyone should remember number six. Secondley, and more to the point... My favorite example of open standards, when talking to business people, is car tires. You know those numbers on the sides of tires like "P185/60R14 82H." that represent the fact this is a "P" Passenger car tire, "185" mm width, ratio of "60" for sidewall height to tread width, "R" for Radial, "14" inch wheel widthe, and 82H has something to do with Load, speed and temperature rating. Tire manufacturers have all agreed upon standard tire sizes. This allows any car to use tires from many different manufacturers. Car companies could try to be like computer printer manufacturers and try to lock you into buying only their brand of ink cartridges. Or they could try to act like closed source computer software makers and try to lock you into storing your data in their format, so you must license their software to have access to your own business data. You would think the possibility of locking in car buyers to a proprietary set of tires would make auto executives salivate with the thought of future profits to be reaped from unsuspecting customers who need to come back to the original manufacturer to buy replacement tires. You would be wrong. Auto manufacturers would have shoulder the whole cost of developing and manufacturing non-standard proprietary tires. They would lose the benefits of commoditization. If a hurricane, or earthquake disrupted the supply of non-standard proprietary tires, the auto manufacturer would be unable to sell new cars or supply replacement tires. They could not just "work around" the disruption by turning to a new tire supplier for a short period. Think about Ford a few years ago when all of their Explorer SUV's were rolling over. Part of the blame was placed on a type of Firestone tire. Ford was able to replace the tires with similar sized tires from a competing tire manufacturer, and to continue shipping Explorers. If the tires had been specialized Ford proprietary tires, Ford would have had to re-tool a factory, and recall all explorers to switch to a different tire. I know that tire standards are not quite the same as the standard that defines the inch, or the standard that ODF is under. But people have shopped for tires, and they know they can buy tires from a different manufacturer. They can shop around for the best deal, or even upgrade to a more expensive model with bettre features. They can do this, in part, because tires come in standard sizes. Open standards promote competition and reduce costs to the consumer. Open standards help drive the market economics towards commoditization of goods. If tires don't work, then I try cooking and measurements |
| grouch May 27, 2006 7:08 AM EDT |
dinotrac: >"The thing I'm curious about is why he's bothered to engage Don." Free publicity. Perhaps he subscribes to the idea that there is no such thing as bad publicity. I suspect his ego leads him to believe that he can get the audience to ignore Don's opposing views and completely swallow his own line. |
| dinotrac May 27, 2006 7:37 AM EDT |
grouch : You've got a point. Most folks -- including the decision makers and influencers, won't appreciate some of the finer points, but will get the picture of two people engaging the issue. Then, from a Titch standpoint, "Look, we've engaged the community. We know there are differences, there always are, but the real question is: What's best for Massachusetts -- and what's it going to cost?" |
| hkwint May 27, 2006 9:07 AM EDT |
My article called "Think tanks like Heartland and their ties with Microsoft: What everybody should know" is almost ready, so expect the fight to go on pretty soon. |
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