| From: | Brett Borger <bxb121@***.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: "Free" Software (was: Euro question) |
| Date: | Fri, 1 May 1998 12:36:05 +0000 |
> >it into shadowrun.
>
> We've been discussing the relationship of the megas to independents
> in the 2050s. That's SR, isn't it?
That's what I meant...I took the [OT] tag off. Man, I really am just
failing at getting my point across today. :)
> >Mega #1 ties things up legally.....where? There is no legal entity
> >responsible for the new system...thousands of owners (no doubt a ton
> >of them shadow deckers anyway, the rest all hardcore geeks) crossing
> >national and corporate boundries.
>
> Sure - there are several legal entities responsible. Everybody
> who contributed, for one. Sure, lots of them cross national
> boundaries, but since when does that bother an international mega?
So Mega 1 sues Linus...in every district they can. Throw out some
lawsuits against a few of the major non-shadow BBS too. End result:
Mega spends a fortune in legal fees, Linus is broke and out of luck
(this is before he gets geeked. Poor guy :) ) Linux is still
getting developed by the other thousands of people.
> >Mega #3 kills the authors. Okay, poor Linus is toast. But the
> >system now has thousands of authors and developers...Linus has
> >already done his part. Sure, some of them will be scared enough to
> >back away, but all? Most? Enough?
>
> Life is cheap in SR. I'd say Enough. Sure, there will always be
> the hardcore "I'd rather die than give in" sort, but I'm sure the
> corps are willing to accept the exchange.
I'd tend to diagree. Corps are certainly free to engage is such
violence, but kill too many and people start to notice. Notice means
bad rep, which means a dip in the bottom line. Corp Shadowfiles had
a nice bit about that. Worse yet, there doesn't have to be proof
that the corp is responsible. Just suspicsion is enough for the
fickle public. Ask Robert Jewell.
> >viruses without getting caught. Legally? Hasn't even tried. Mega's
>
> I doubt that MS could write a virus without getting their buns
> toasted. Virii move much slower nowadays than in the 2050s, not
> to mention the millions of Linux users (not all of which are net
> connected, anyhow).
True. Also, I doubt MS could write a virus without
1) Having it not work
2) Except on their own systems
3) and blaming the latest delay in NT 5.0 on it.
> Legally? MS doesn't have enough money to try that, and it would
Wow, when MS doesn't have enough money for something, I tend to put
it on the list of things Megas wouldn't do in a hurry. MS isn't a
mega, but it still has a lot of money, which Megas tend to hold
rather dear...
> be cheaper to rely on what they're good at (FUD/publicity). They
Yup. I see a FUD campaign in the 2050's, but not a legal battle.
Esp since a legal battle lends authenticity to the opponent.
> Yeah, it's possible. I just see the ratio of power in the 2050s
> to have swung more towards the megas than the independents. MS
> isn't near the power levels of the A corps, let alone the AAAs.
> Independents are more likely to be willing to do illegal stuff,
> but so are the corps - I'd say it's likely that the corps win on
> that front, too.
Oh, I agree... just as the computer market now is corporation based.
I'm thinking in terms of recent additions. Fuchi, MCT, and 'Raku
have been basically dealing with UMS and custom hardware/software
algorithms. I see no reason why a "freebie" couldn't try and
compete. Maybe it wouldn't succeed....but if it lasts a while, it
could make for some interesting runs. Besides, isn't this exactly
how decker's utilities are spread?
-=SwiftOne=-
Brett Borger
SwiftOne@***.edu
AAP Techie
