September 21, 1999
Jamin Philip Gray
When Java was first announced, I bought into a lot of Sun’s hypesurrounding it. It seemed that they were a company truly intent ondestroying Microsoft. And that pleased me, because I saw Microsoftas the Evil Empire, intent on controlling and monopolizingeverything, beginning with the computer industry. And yes, Sun wasintent on demolishing Microsoft, but for the wrong reasons. Theywanted to harm M$ because Microsoft was a thorn in theirside…they were jealous of the success in Redmond. They wereenvious and coveted what Microsoft had. I’ve seen Sun time andtime again over-hype technology and mislead the community intothinking that they are a company devoted to being open for thesake of the community. The truth is, it’s all a bunch of bull. Sunjust wants to benefit themselves.
Like many of you I used to be a devout Java follower. I saw itas the next Big Thing. But with time, I got sick of Sun’stactics, and their stranglehold on the source and API, and gave upon it pretty much altogether. I have absolutely nothing againstcommercial software. I am, however, against companies who hoardand maintain a stranglehold on API’s, document formats, algorithms,and the like that are in widespread use, simply for the purpose ofmaking a buck. That is precisely why there is a need for trulyOpen Source software. Not just so that we can have a free OS andfree apps to go with it. Yes, there is a need for that…I don’tthink people should have to pay for those things unlessthey want to..but it goes beyond that. There is a socialimperative for open standards, open source libraries tohack with, and open document formats. Without them, innovation istruly stifled. Without them, we don’t have widespread scientificadvancement. And without them, the system of “checks andbalances” falls apart, giving rise to social and economicimbalance and the opportunity for (and therefore the reality of)Evil and Injustice by the powerful against the weak.
We humans thrive in an environment in which we can shareideas. We build on each other’s discoveries. We all cry out at theinjustice, and yet to some degree we are all hypocrites when westart whining about oppression. It is human nature to want inprinciple equal access to information and resources for all, butat the same time to want individual power and exclusive rights towhatever we can get our greedy hands on. And the largecorporations are the biggest hypocrites of all. That is whyMicrosoft’s recent barking about how their ability to innovate hasbeen stifled is ludicrously hypocritical. That is why Sun sayingthey are victimized by companies like Microsoft who stifleinnovation is absurd in light of their history of maintainingstrangleholds on technologies like Java. As Eric S. Raymond saidin a recent For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith andpierced themselves with many griefs.–I Timothy 6:10 There is nothing wrong with making money, even lots of money. But so often, making money becomes the end goal, and our sense ofmorality and responsibility falls below that end goal in our listof priorities. Don’t believe for one minute that Sun’s recentacquisition of StarOffice was made to benefit the Linux community or any othercommunity. Don’t buy into the argument that Microsoft is trulyinterested in helping out the consumer. Don’t even believethat Red Hat is intent on helping out the open source communityfor the sake of goodwill. And don’t fool yourself into thinkingthat you are different from Bill Gates at a fundamental level. Weneed open source software, open standards, and an environment inwhich we can share our ideas and innovate, in order to keepourselves in check.
Tags: Features
