In-Reply-To: 
Message-ID: 
References: <514spb$73m@nntp5.u.washington.edu> <51a665$e6t@usenet.rpi.edu> <51al9d$p78@news4.digex.net> <51atmo$bmn@sjx-ixn5.ix.netcom.com> <51c65s$19q@news4.digex.net> <01bba1e9.63a61020$457985cd@falcon> <51do3q$10s@sjx-ixn2.ix.netcom.com> <01bba25b.07d1bc50$457985cd@falcon> <51etue$7jl@news4.digex.net> <01bba297.1f7b3430$457985cd@falcon> <51hu9e$li4@news3.digex.ne <01bba518.3527f5b0$457985cd@falcon> <51tdg2$7bv@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au> <01bba739$738bb210$457985cd@falcon> 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII



	Rex Ballard - Director of Electronic Distribution
	http://cnj.digex.net/~rballard


On 22 Sep 1996, Christopher Robato wrote:

> In article <01bba739$738bb210$457985cd@falcon>, "Gabe Schaffer"
>  wrote:
> 
> 
> [snip]
> 
> > Are you kidding?  So-called ActiveX containers have been around 
> > for years.  IE is just the first to make a web browser into one.  
> > Netscape has been embedding OLE objects since before IE even 
> 
> What do you mean?  Are you refering to Netscape plugins?  Sorry, you must
> have a case of mistaken identity.  Netscape plugins are not OLE
> components.
> 
> > *existed*.  Netscape could easily support ActiveX, but they don't 
> > because it would support MS.

More significantly, Netscape has the integrity to honor the contributions
of the 75,000 engineers who have contributed thousands of hours of
research, development, market research, promotion, quality control, and
support worth 75 billion dollars.  This pool of software was freely
contributed with two restrictions - first, you can make copies, but you
must make the source code available at nominal cost.  Second, you must
give all enhancements back to the original author so that he can integrate
these enhancements into future products.  It is known as the General
Public License.  This is the cornerstone of the internet.  As it is,
Netscape often trades patented software to projects like Arena in exchange
for features such as secure HTTP.

Microsoft gets much of it's engineering from applicants who steal company
information from their employers and submit it as part of their
"qualification" in hopes of getting a job at Microsoft.  I personally
applied back in 1982.  I submitted designs, specifications, and sample
code for a personal project I had been working on for about 6 months (in
my spare time).  Microsoft decided they could not use me as an employee,
but incorporated most of my suggestions into it's OS/2 product.  I didn't
even get a thank you note.

Microsoft may be opening itself up for a massive class action suit.  The
entire technology of the Web Browser was the product of at least 30
companies who had been working on various componants for over 20 years.
If Microsoft adds proprietary enhancements, many of the original
developers of Andrew, Linx, Viola, Cello, Mosaic, Arena, and Netscape, who
have very strong ties to the UNIX operating system, may be able to prove
that Microsoft has violated, in principle, their copyrights, license
agreements, and general research principles.  One might have to go through
some of the 500 megabytes of e-mail and news archives that people like me
have saved up over the last 20 years, but the information is there.

Which is the jury most likely to sympathize with.  The 75,000 who gave
freely so that the economic opportunity would be available to all, or the
Meglamaniac who stated in 1986 that his true ambition was world
domination through monopolistic control of the world's information
infrastructure.

If Jim Barksdale is Smart (which he usually is - I used to work for him),
he will start including a "complimentary copy" of LINUX along with the
Netscape Distribution CD-Rom.  A bundle including Navigator Gold, Red Hat
Linux, WABI (we still want to run some Office apps), X11, and a full
suite of Linux Apps, could easily overtake Windows 95/NT4.0 in less than 9
months.

	Rex.

> Rgds,
> 
> Chris
> 
> -- 
> *** Sailor Moon Joins Team OS/2 ***
> Evil falls on the city.  "Hurry before Windows 95 takes over 
> the world."  Serena and friends shout, "OS/2 Warp Power, Transform!"
> The Sailor Scouts crash the Red Moon Palace.
> Sailor Moon confronts the evil Queen Beryl Gates and 
> her Windowsverse forces, and says,   
> "In the Name of I-B-Moon, I shall right FUD and that means you!"
> ***  crobato@kuentos.guam.net  ***
> 
> 


From rballard@cnj.digex.net Thu Oct  3 02:29:34 1996
Status: O
X-Status: 
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.sys.amiga.advocacy,comp.sys.mac.advocacy,comp.sys.next.advocacy,comp.sys.powerpc.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy