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Somebody better tell Microsoft that it's still March, because the suggestion of an Internet usage tax to fight Windows-powered botnets must be an April Fool's joke let out a month too early.
According to Robert McMillan's piece on ComputerWorld, Scott Charney (Microsoft's veep for Trustworthy Computing) suggests that one way to fund fitghting botnets is to tax users. You could say it's a public safety issue and do it with general taxation. You could, but let's not.
Stop me if you've heard this one before -- the reason why so many people choose Windows over alternative platforms is because there are too many choices.
All right, hold on to your hats, folks. In a few cases, I think that's an accurate statement. Why? Because people just want to use their computer. I also know that when given a computer running an alternative operating system, this same demographic happily gets on with using the computer.
On the desktop, of course, there's been a long history of vendors pushing proprietary operating systems by default. While it appears that trend will change in the future, it's already changing in the mobile arena.
Microsoft's Robbie Bach is applying the old argument to the new playing field. Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin, unsurprisingly, thinks this is a bad move on Microsoft's part.
Obama's inauguration must have brought out the optimist in tech journalists. In the last week, Ron Miller and Charles Babcock have written to implore Microsoft to open source Windows. While inspired and with some solid reasoning, I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon. Here's why.
Check in with Chris DiBona, Google's open source chief, on how committed Google is to OSS, and more.....
Google announces OpenSocial 0.8.....
Bill Gates discussed Windows 7 at the D conference. It has a multi-touch interface--video and photos found here.....
Ruby on Rails upgrade may arrive this weekend.....
Eighteen universities say they are turning to Groundwork Open Source's network management software.....
Funambol, maker of open source messaging software, has a new version of its BlackBerry push e-mail and PIM sync app.....
In the wake of Microsoft's announcement of new openness and interoperability initiatives, market researchers at Gartner are warning open source developers to tread carefully. In particular, a report from Gartner warns that underlying patents could create litigation risks if open source developers decide to play fast and loose with the documentation and APIs that Microsoft is making available. Are the warnings to be taken seriously?
