Petition - worth signing?

[Styloid]

Petition

Take a look at this – perhaps you’d sign it or comment.

www.digistan.org: Hague Declaration

Should this thread be here ?

[DennisByron]

As I explained in my blog post this petition is a cover for a nasty anti-Microsoft group called Digistan, probably funded by a Soros slush fund aimed at building a socialist world government that wants to constrain business and legislate away profits. The Digistan Manifesto is a collection of half lies and untruths and almost no-one has signed.

What is true is that we need more competition in the market which is why MSFT have been cutting the cost of XP to people who need it, such as in education. Now people have a real choice between low-cost XP and high-value Vista.

Please do not sign the radical Digistan manifesto... it will only lead to governments mistakenly legislating for "free and open standards" (whatever that means, the Digistan site does not say!), which will be bad for everyone.

What education needs is affordable access to Microsoft technology, to promote shareholder value.

Thanks.

[GrumbleDook]

Oh sweet $deity, Dennis.

I won't rip apart your blog too much as there are many people already doing that.

Instead I would say that if you don't like the group who have set up the site, then site up a counter site ... and let people make up their own mind instead of putting up half truths and opinionated drivel.

IMHO of course ... and this is presuming you would even bother reading this.

[Dos_Box]

Now people have a real choice between low-cost XP and high-value Vista.

Now that is a debate. Microsoft are to be appluaded for their current pricing, but it took them long enough to get there. 8 Years ago it was a totally different matter.

[webman]

Now people have a real choice between low-cost XP and high-value Vista.

Oh goody, what choice!

Microsoft are to be appluaded for their current pricing, but it took them long enough to get there. 8 Years ago it was a totally different matter.

I disagree. Their latest tactics are a late last-minute reaction to Linux's success in niche areas - they just want a piece of the action and if that means lowering the price then so be it. Obviously has nothing to do with Vista needing the equivalent hardware of a NASA workstation to run, oh no...

[Geoff]

You can't choose between XP and Vista realistically (ok us educational/corporate users have the benefit of downgrade rights) but in the consumer space you can only get a copy of XP if your putting it on one of those ultra light laptops (there's a X amount of ram and Y Ghz CPU limitation). Although didn't someone mention (was it you Tony?) that that restriction may fall foul of EU competition/monopoly law?

[GrumbleDook]

I don't think it was me, but I remember the conversation.

IIRC it was along the lines of questioning that MS were making Vista the only OS available to certain OEM prior to those OEM being ready, hardware wise, to deal with it. The question quickly disappeared after Dell and others came to an arrangement where XP was extended as an OS that comes with a machine as it allowed others to keep with XP.

[Geoff]

Fair enough.

[Styloid]

As I explained in my blog post this petition is a cover for a nasty anti-Microsoft group called Digistan, probably funded by a Soros slush fund aimed at building a socialist world government that wants to constrain business and legislate away profits. The Digistan Manifesto is a collection of half lies and untruths and almost no-one has signed.

What is true is that we need more competition in the market which is why MSFT have been cutting the cost of XP to people who need it, such as in education. Now people have a real choice between low-cost XP and high-value Vista.

Please do not sign the radical Digistan manifesto... it will only lead to governments mistakenly legislating for "free and open standards" (whatever that means, the Digistan site does not say!), which will be bad for everyone.

What education needs is affordable access to Microsoft technology, to promote shareholder value.

Thanks.

God forbid that anything should stand in the way of Microsoft.
Where is your evidence with which you can support your narratiive ? It not there in my reading of your blog. The shrill tone has a ring of the stouge.

And what does "education needs is affordable access to Microsoft technology, to promote shareholder value." mean ? And whats it got to do with my kids education ?

[CyberNerd]

@DennisByron

Initially I wouldn't have bothered signing this, but your comment convinced me otherwise

[SpuffMonkey]

As I explained in my blog post this petition is a cover for a nasty anti-Microsoft group called Digistan, probably funded by a Soros slush fund aimed at building a socialist world government that wants to constrain business and legislate away profits.

Fantastic - where do I sign up?