The History of the World. Part 2

[psema4]

On 10/27/05, Francois Ouellette <fouellet-cpI+UMyWUv9BDgjK7y7TUQ at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> OK, nice talk but this list still about Linux, right? (right like in:
> correct).

Dead-on correct.  :-)

> During all the time spent writing rhetoric about the "freedom" of everything
> and how free-er our minds could be there are (paid) guys at M$ writing code
> and testing the next release of Windoze and Office...

Again.  I plead no contest.  There is a very practical justification
for your view and many see it the same way.  I did to.

I don't see it that way now though.  It is not only M$ employees that
are being paid to write code, for whatever project.  I don't make as
much, but I don't get paid by the rhetoric of the M$ press either.  I
do inhouse stuff for a niche 3PL provider.  I prefer it this way.

I like going to work.  It's a progressive place, I learn things and
get to be with good people.

> Just like my music teacher used to tell me: if you don't practice, someone
> else does, he/she will win the next competition, not you!

I practice.  It is my discipline.  I also call it learning.

> Just a (free) thought.

A $0.02 thought in return.  (Not bad, eh?  You get a refund.  ;-)

The brackets around your use of free; this suggests to me (somehow) of
a restriction on "freedom."

When Honourable Ministers of the Government of Canada are making
suggestions to Parliament that may adversly affect the rights and
freedoms, not only for us, but for our children?

(breathe)

I've come up with an analogy:

What do you give one who seeks to contain your freedom as a people?

My answer would be no-quarter.  It's cultural self preservation.

What can I do?  Well.  I'm a LAMP-guy.  I learned a trick or two with
the gimp using tremendous tutorials, in great mags and online.  I
throw together a logo, or a t-shirt iron-on image, or whatever, slap
it onto a webpage and offer it for download for people to print.  It's
not much, but it's something.  So I did it again - a poster this time.

Certain things set me off.  This is one of them.  I'm sorry when it
comes out in a rush.

If freedom is empty retoric to this list, and I don't think it is,
well then.  I dunno.  I can fill that particular bucket from another
stream I guess.  These are the times in which we live.

I wouldn't try to impose anything on anyone. Raising an issue?  That's
a different story.

O right!  Back to Linux!  More specifically the licensing and
intellectual property issues.  What law gives the GPL it's protection?

I'm not saying that the current reforms suggest any threat to either
Linux or the GPL, IANAL, and all that...  but it *is* a little close
to home for me on a few fronts.

I also (try to) do some musical stuff.  I played trumpet for years. 
Lately it's all been digital.  6 or 7 tracks this year, released with
Creative Commons licenses.

It's stress relief.  I can do something creative, publish it, *and*
market it if I wish.  Myself.

Using nothing but Linux and a handy-dandy internet connection if I want.

And no "big bad studio," or "evil corporate entity" can stop me
legally, because I have these rights.  Because I have these freedoms. 
I can now partially wield the powers of law and media - just like they
do.  They don't like that much, so the "big-bad-guys" send their
marketing teams and their retoric back to the governments and try to
get the laws changed in their favour again.  It's sickening.

That shorter thing standing in the opposing corner?  None other than
Tux.  Or rather, that's the way I'd have it.

The problems have been getting worse for years.  A solution needs to
be found, and everybody - Industry, Gov't, Media, etc - knows it.

A member of the Government of Canada asked this community for help
(re: The History of the World: part 1).

5 hour response time, not a comment.  Not so much as a boo.  Kinda
bugged me, so I jumped on it and ran.  And ran.  There are many good
people here, and I've met several of you.  I believe we can do things
to help Tux.

I've been up maybe 30 hours or so now, been to work twice, vented, fed
sendmail to the photocopier, had an impromptu meeting for the AVP
project.  Cleared my head?  Long day.  I dunno.

But I do feel good for having tried to make a difference.

(Btw, the word retoric... has a potential range of meaning reminiscent
to that of modern marketing.  During the holidays.)

--
Scott Elcomb
Fight might with Right.  Your Right.
<http://psema4.gotdns.com.nyud.net:8090/copyright/>

2375+ Canadians oppose Bill C-60
http://KillBillC60.ca    Sign--> http://digital-copyright.ca/petition/
--
The Toronto Linux Users Group.      Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org
TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns
How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml