Open Microsoft

Andy, they dazzled you as they try to dazzle everyone who falls into the clutches of their junkets. "I appreciate all the money and effort Microsoft put in." Man, they have nothing but money and personnel to throw around- it's no big deal to them. You have forgotten that Microsoft is no ordinary company, but is a convicted illegal monopolist who is the sworn enemy of everyone who does not do what they want, and especially Linux and F/OSS. They lie, cheat, lie, bully, lie, and strongarm. Oh yes, and they are not truthful.

You've forgotten their shameful behavior in Massachusetts; and before the European Commission; and their silly threats to pull out of Australia; and their machinations behind the scenes at SCO; their incredibly shoddy and un-fixable Windows; and on and on. Yeah, they hire nice folks- so what? The grunts don't set policy, and won't change Gates' or Ballmer's policies or attitudes.

You better check in to the de-programming center.

Quite. This is why only cynical journalists should go on these junkets: they have been on so many of them that the corrupting influences of the host companies tend to cancel out....(a cynical journalist writes).

I suggest we all read the article carefully. He was aware of and vocal about the same criticisms. Also, look at his advice and see his other Microsoft articles. Andy has taken a consistent position for years: criticize Microsoft for its business practices but appreciate when it tries to create technologies that meet user needs.

Andy suspected the engineers of pretending ignorance, and he agrees that he probably didn't do any good, but to stay home would have done less good. Also, I like the fact that he had the huevos to go into enemy territory and pick up some observations.

Glyn: They have the best food, hotels and pay high stipends among other things.

My take was that Andy was pretty up front with them. I doubt he pointed a gun at their heads, but I understood his article as saying he expressed his concerns about Microsoft's approach to things. From the article:

"I certainly took the opportunity to press my philosophy at the conference. Drawing on debates where I live in Massachusetts, I complained to Microsoft managers that some of Microsoft's supposedly open formats (such as the XML format for Office) were encumbered by all sorts of small but ominous restrictions, including the threat of exercising patents. These cumulatively make potential users and competitors afraid of Microsoft acting against them."

It certainly doesn't seem to me like he was too 'dazzled' to forget whose side he was on.

Quoting:It certainly doesn't seem to me like he was too 'dazzled' to forget whose side he was on.

If people don't recognize Andy's name then perhaps we should share a few factoids. He's the open source editor at O'Reilly and started with ORA back in the very early 1990's. He's done most of the Linux books including "Running Linux" - the first Linux book and the most popular. He's an advocate for Free Software. He was named one of the top Linux Luminaries in 2004 by IDG at Linux World 2004. For him to say anything nice about Microsoft is like Bill Ballmer saying something nice about Linux. Look at any O'Reilly book to see if Andy was the editor.

Also, can anyone tell me the publisher of Eric Raymond's Cathedral and the Bazaar?

Acording to wikipedia, the origional publisher was O'Reilly_Media 1999

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cathedral_and_the_Bazaar

O'Reilly media is part of O'Reilly & Associates. here's what I get when I search Safari:

The Cathedral & the Bazaar, Revised Edition By Eric S. Raymond ............................................... Publisher: O'Reilly Pub Date: February 2001 ISBN: 0-596-00108-8 Pages: 208 Slots: 1.0

Sorry guys - I read this essay before in hit the book form. Moreover, I read his other essays on some site probably predating 1999 publication date of the O'Reilly book. Most likely following some link on either lwn.net or slashdot.org.

You're right. His essays were put together and published by O'Reilly as a community book project, which Eric acknowledges. You should read the preface.

"This book is a collection of essays that were originally published on the Internet; Chapter 1 is originally from 1992 but since regularly updated and revised, and the others were written between February 1997 and May 1999. They were somewhat revised and expanded for the first edition in October 1999, and updated again for this second edition of January 2001, but no really concerted attempt has been made to remove technicalia or make them `more accessible' (e.g. dumb them down) for a general audience.

"Some particular thanks are due for long-term friendship and support for the work captured between these covers. Thank you, Linus Torvalds. Thank you, Larry Augustin. Thank you, Doc Searls. Thank you, Tim O'Reilly. You are all people I am proud to call friends as well as colleagues."