[A2k] New York Times: Facing Free Software, Microsoft Looks to Yahoo

[Ciaran O'Riordan]

Thiru Balasubramaniam <thiru@keionline.org> writes:
> =E2=80=9CMost of what you need is on the Internet =E2=80=94 and it=E2=80=
=99s free,=E2=80=9D he said.
> =E2=80=9CThere are early warning signs that the traditional Microsoft pro=
grams
> are losing their grip.=E2=80=9D

When he says "free software" he means "web services" (that you don't pay
for).  About the idea that Microsoft's software will be replaced by web
services, I hope he's wrong, and I think that he is wrong.

With web services, you usually don't have access to your raw data, and your
service provider can spy on you endlessly and deny you access whenever they
want.  In terms of control/freedom, using web services is slightly worse
than using Microsoft's software.

There are two reasons why I think he's wrong.  One is that in the age of
2Ghz laptops, it doesn't make sense for people to use a centralised remote
server for their applications.  It's unnecessary and it's inefficient.

Number two is that I guess he saw a rise in web services and made the
overly-simplistic deduction that this shows that people like web services.
More accurately, I think the recent rise in web services shows that people
dislike Microsoft's software (usually for cost or incompatibility reasons).
When trying to get away from Microsoft's software, the first option many
will try is web services (because migration is easy), but they will
eventually notice similar problems with web services.  If we raise awarenes=
s
about free software, the next option they try might be GNU/Linux and other
pieces of real free software.

--
Ciar=C3=A1n O'Riordan (+32 477 36 44 19) \ Support Free Software and GNU/Li=
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