Of course Microsoft is pushing the theory that interop means Works With Microsoft.

From [[Dave Winer]] at [[Userland]]:

The rest of us should just reject that without discussion. I’m perfectly happy to get interop with Everyone But Microsoft. They have an uphill battle to get developers to adopt their tools. Sure some developers will go anywhere Microsoft wants them to go today. More power to them. But for the rest of us, the more Microsoft isolates itself, the more appeal our technologies have to developers who value independence.

Mandrake has released its Linux 8.2 for the PPC platform.

I don’t think that this is serious comptetition for MacOSX, but it’s more evidence that the Mac is being taken very seriously as a platform again.

Thanks Steve!

Does everyone out there get it yet? Monopolies=bad.

The rules that applied in the late 80s don’t apply in the late 90s because Microsoft has a near-monopoly position in the operating system and application businesses, and it uses those positions to further cement the strength of each of them. Over time the lock-in increases.

The lock-in process has nothing to do with the quality of product or the economic cost to users and computer vendors. It’s a philosophic challenge our country has dealt with before, and in the past we decided that it’s not in our interest to allow this kind of lock-in to happen.

Sometimes Dave Winer gets it just right.

I think, in some ways programmers, who live the scientific method, are better prepared for life than non-programmers, but the opposite is often assumed. We all have a visual image of the programmer, but this is just the outer package. A great programmer is a seeker of truth and beauty. Successful programmers know how to ask questions, and they know how to ask the **right** question. You can’t go forward until that happens. A programmer is a rigorous scientist determined to coax the truth out of the ones and zeros. There’s the beauty.

I haven’t been a programmer as long as Dave (it’s been 15 years or so for me), but this piece captures for me exactly how I feel about the work I do.

When a programmer catches fire it’s because he or she groks the system, its underlying truth has been revealed. I’ve seen this happen many times, a programmer languishes for months, chipping at the edges of a problem. Then all of a sudden, a breakthrough happens, the pieces start fitting together. A few months later the software works, and you go forward.

***YES!*** I believe that programming is much more art than engineering, and that a good programmer has the soul of an artist. This is the way an artist works… when meaning is found, inspiration ensues.

Moriarty from [[Ain’t It Cool News]] hits the nail right on the head.

And like many movie fans my age, I grew up with Siskel & Ebert as a natural part of my unnaturally voracious movie appetite. Even when I didn’t agree with one or the other or both of them, the thing their show imparted to me, loud and clear, was the idea that it was okay to feel passionately about films, and that discussion of them could lead you to all sorts of unexpected pleasures.

EXACTLY!

Attack of the clones seems to ROCK!

I only hope that it really is this good:

I will always remember May 2, 2002 as the day I took a trip to a galaxy far, far away, and rediscovered something I haven’t felt in a movie theater since…well, since the summer of ’83: Unmitigated satisfaction. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones delivers enough fun, excitement, and thrills, one wonders if George Lucas didn’t have a sly grin on his face each time a critic proclaimed the first installment of his new trilogy a dismal failure. It is clear to this viewer that every element of Episode I was carefully calculated to lay a strong foundation which Episode II masterfully builds upon. In fact, what makes this film most enjoyable is the payoff received from events that had their seemingly lackluster origins in the first installment.

The rest of us will find out in the weeks to come.

Given that he no longer has any credibility, should Cardinal Law resign in order to help the healing process begin?

I’ve never been a big fan of Richard Stallman, but his GPL concept is brilliant. Bill Gates is right to be scared.

Gates’ latest speech on the issue was delivered in mid-April to a Government Leaders’ Conference in Seattle, where he warned developing countries [against using software based on the GPL](http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/speeches/2002/04-17glc.asp,) saying those who put development time into it are denying themselves the benefits of essential taxes.

He’s sure sounding desperate to me. A desperate Bill Gates is good for the world, IMHO 🙂

But in a
column for ZDNet UK, Stallman said the real reason that Microsoft attacks the GPL is that it creates a domain of software that the company cannot privatize and control. Microsoft’s approach to free software is simple: ‘What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine.’

But on the other hand, maybe I have Stallman all wrong! Yah just gotta love a guy that’s not afraid to take it to Mr. Gates.

If only it were true.

This is not for the humor impaired.

Nine states seeking tough antitrust sanctions against Microsoft told a federal judge on Tuesday that they have more evidence that a proposed settlement of the landmark case is already hurting computer makers.

Some PC makers say the company is using a proposed DOJ settlement to force-feed unfair licensing terms. Microsoft says introducing the issue in court is *highly prejudicial.*