Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on April 23, 2002 08:11 PM
It is simply a stupid statement. I think what Gates means is that, in a developing country (note: developing), installing Linux instead of Windows, means no IT firms will take off.
This vaguely makes sense if you look at it superficially (ie not at all :) ). It misses 2 major points:
- As a developing country, going for Linux instead of Windows is going to save me a gadzillion dollars worth of license. I think we all agree here? Then, there is nothing to stop a million firms building non-GPL'd applications running on Linux. Of course you won't get any firms making money out of the OS, but that brings me to the second point:
- How is installing Windows going to create any jobs in my country? I paid a gadzillion dollars for the _os_, now I have to spend another to get development tools (DevStudio is not exactly free... Oh, you didn't plan to use GCC under Windows?) and your firms can start creating new software _exactly_ in the same situation. Nobody in my country will be making money off Windows either.
Gates is using misunderstaning: "Install Linux and everything you type will have to be given away for free." Rubbish.
The point is not of knowing if you can make money with GPL, it is whether it makes sense for those countries to buy something they can get for free.
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Re:Something wrong?
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on April 23, 2002 08:11 PMThis vaguely makes sense if you look at it superficially (ie not at all :) ). It misses 2 major points:
- As a developing country, going for Linux instead of Windows is going to save me a gadzillion dollars worth of license. I think we all agree here? Then, there is nothing to stop a million firms building non-GPL'd applications running on Linux. Of course you won't get any firms making money out of the OS, but that brings me to the second point:
- How is installing Windows going to create any jobs in my country? I paid a gadzillion dollars for the _os_, now I have to spend another to get development tools (DevStudio is not exactly free... Oh, you didn't plan to use GCC under Windows?) and your firms can start creating new software _exactly_ in the same situation. Nobody in my country will be making money off Windows either.
Gates is using misunderstaning: "Install Linux and everything you type will have to be given away for free." Rubbish.
The point is not of knowing if you can make money with GPL, it is whether it makes sense for those countries to buy something they can get for free.
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