<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Folks:<div><br></div><div>Chris gives a lot of good thoughts here, and I have to admit I am in his camp.</div><div><br></div><div>I'm one of those folks who love the idea and philosophy of Linux and Free Software, but realize that in this current climate, from a practical standpoint, there are times when the FOSS community just isn't quite there yet. In my personal example, I run a shop with Linux servers and MacOS X workstations. It has been Apple's increasing corporate behavior over the last five years that has driven me further and further into the FOSS community, however, this is still being written from a MacBook because one of the most frustrating computing experiences of my entire life was getting wireless to work on a Laptop running Linux. While the FOSS community - and Ubuntu in particular - has made great gains in the last couple of years getting to "the last mile" of "normal" desktop access, they're still trying. So, I realize that while philosophy is great, and can and should be your guiding light, practicality sometimes wins the game.</div><div><br></div><div>So, in the end, I think this is ultimately a dangerous idea for both parties. From our side, Bug #1 puts us in direct philosophical combat with Microsoft, and from their part the Halloween Memo does the same with regard to us. While meeting there could work, I think it could just take a careless thought and action, not even meant badly, from either side to make things potentially uncomfortable.</div><div><br></div><div>I personally love the BPL idea if we can make it work.</div><div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">---</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Richard "Doc" Kinne • Rikardo «Dokĉjo» KINNE, BA, MSc., AMAAS</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><kinnerc @ gmail.com> </font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Georgia" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Georgia; font-family: Georgia; ">"I'm the Doctor, and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up!"</font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face="Georgia" size="3" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Georgia; font-family: Georgia; ">- The Doctor<br></font></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Georgia">"Forests of the Dead," <i>Doctor Who</i></font></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></div></div><div><div>On 03 Apr , 2009, at 09:55, Chris Butler wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">I'm a bit torn on this...<br><br>A lot of us are admins or developers who work in mixed OS environs. The idea of pulling people from both Linux and Windows sides to maybe help mesh them is a positive to me.<br><br>The point of Ubuntu though has always seemed to me to create access to Linux for the everyday end user - and the idea of free software. <br> <a href="http://www.ubuntu.com/community/ubuntustory/philosophy">http://www.ubuntu.com/community/ubuntustory/philosophy</a><br><br>Why shouldn't we bring this idea to Microsoft? <br><br>On the other hand...<br>The Free Software idea undermines the core corporate policies/drives of Microsoft (from my perspective at least). <br> This could very easily be viewed as an attempt to undermine them and I would hesitate to go into a position that could cause any conflict.<br><br>I wouldn't mind it, as long as it was clear to them who/what we are and do but I would probably be more comfortable finding another alternative.<br> <br>Just my .02$<br><br>-Chris<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Apr 3, 2009 at 8:31 AM, Samuel Murphy <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:samuel.murphy@gmail.com">samuel.murphy@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <div class="im"> <br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> What do people think?<br> <br> Regards, MArtin</blockquote><div> </div></div></div>I was at a community event there a few weeks ago, the MSfolk seemed <br>totally cool about demos shown on Firefox or linux based. It is an<br>amazing location, do look for the beanbag chairs in the shape of stream pebbles. <br> <br>My cynical spidy sense suspects that the Cambridge 'lab' comes from<br>an MS exec reading something like 'The Art of War' and following the<br>suggestion "keep your friends close... and your enemies closer" <br> <br>But heck, take advantage of it. <br><br>-Sam <br><br><br><br><br><br><br> <br>--<br> Ubuntu-us-ma mailing list<br> <a href="mailto:Ubuntu-us-ma@lists.ubuntu.com">Ubuntu-us-ma@lists.ubuntu.com</a><br> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-ma" target="_blank">https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-ma</a><br> <br></blockquote></div><br> -- <br>Ubuntu-us-ma mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Ubuntu-us-ma@lists.ubuntu.com">Ubuntu-us-ma@lists.ubuntu.com</a><br>Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-ma<br></blockquote></div><br><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; 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