Re: Free Software Company

[Radhakrishnan C V <cvr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Sat, 16 Sep 2000, Arun Sharma wrote:

: On Sat, Sep 16, 2000 at 11:35:09AM +0530, Radhakrishnan C V wrote:
: > : Whereas someone in an academic
: > : setup in a country with a socialist past might be more sympathetic to
: > : RMS's philosophy.
: > 
: > RMS' philosophy gained strength in a country without a socialist past,
: > then only the rest of the so called socialist world came to know of it. 
: 
: The average man on the street believes that BillG invented software.

Yes. That has the roots on the foundations of our education system
that taught the children of this country to believe in that way
without proper historical perspective. But, you dont believe that
Bill Gates invented software and therefore, you have a liability as a
responsible social being to tell your brethern what is true and
false. One cant live safely in an island of affluence and knowledge
surrounded by an ocean of poverty, deprivation and ignorance.

I dont know whether you are in India, but by reading your posts, I
assume, you are living in a Western country. Then, this might be a
news for you, India houses the largest slum in Asia called Adheri,
spanning a space of 175 hectares of land swarming with 1 million
people (see today's 'The Hindu')! There are thousands like this with
varying population sizes in this country. Just because, we were
fortunate enough to fulfill the dream to enter into the silicon
valley software world, we cant turn a Nelson's eye towards this harsh
reality. They need to be freed from deprivation, ignorance,
marginalisation etc., and brought to the mainsteam of body polity of
this land.

Having said this, I dont mean that all the software professionals in
this country should get into the slums for a direct action of
salvaging them. Freedom is a wonderful idea that humanity invented
(on the basis of which we all converse respecting each other).
Similarly computer is also another wonderful idea from the human
mind, and putting that idea into action, the humanity is greatly
benefited and still the process goes on promisingly. Therefore, as
software professionals, we can indirectly help this land by choosing
appropriate technology, methodology, of making a curious mix of
the idea of freedom with the idea of computing, that will invariably
result in saving substantive quantum of resources which can help
salvage our deprived brothern, send polio vaccine to each and every
little child in this country ...

Although the political bureaucracy and leadership vie with each other
in shaking hands with a coroporate CEO, each and every one of the
software professional in this country has a positive and indirect
role in telling the decision making/enforcing machinery that they are
on the wrong directions.

Freedom in any form is an acceptable proposition, so long as the
society in question consider it as right. Therefore, we need not
ponder at the FSF, opensource, FreeBSD, or for that matter any
licencing scheme that stands for freedom. I only ignited an idea of
freedom in computing practices but have not abused and _will not_ abuse
any other scheme that promotes the idea of freedom in one way or
other. Whether I align with FSF or you align with another scheme is
immaterial, the questions and answers are obvious now.


-- 
Radhakrishnan