New Guy...

[Tony Hammitt]

Mike Coleman wrote:
> 
> "Dustin J. Decker" <dustind at zandura.net> writes:
> [...excerpting...]
> > There will continue to be proprietary systems in the future.  Some will
> > radiate from Redmond, others will not.  They will all have their own best
> > interests at heart - with little or no concern for end user satisfaction.
> 
> What he said.
> 
> When dealing with corporations, I always try to ask myself
> 
> - Should I trust these people, based on their past behavior?
> - Do they act with integrity?
> - Will their actions be good for me, my company, and society, in the long run?
> 
> If the answers to any of these questions is 'no', why deal with them?
> 

Absolutely!  I'm trying to do things with my business in the best possible
way, trying to offend no one, because I know that I will get more business
that way.  Arrogance is the first sign of an impending collapse, some might
have called it hubris in an earlier time.

> It always amazes me to see the kind of crap that businesses (and individuals)
> will put up with from rapacious/arrogant/fascist vendors, particularly when
> other alternatives are available.  If the *government* treated them this way,
> they'd be howling...
> 

I've just _got_ to reply to this...

There is a major difference between being mistreated by a corporation
and being mistreated by a company.  People know that this is a democracy
and they have a voice (albeit a small one) in government.  You can call
your congressperson, write letters, etc. and they are legally required
to listen to your concerns.

When a company mistreats you, most people firmly believe that there is
almost nothing you can do to change their behavior, so why even try.
People complain about unfair business practices, but most never do
anything about it.  When people like ourselves participate in such
things as the Linux communtiy or the boycott of Amazon.com, we are
considered the weird ones.  It's a sad commentary on our culture.

But, yes, you're right.  What people would never put up with from the
government they will put up with from companies.  What the scary part is
is the fact that the companies are increasingly dictating what the
government does.  Horrid things like UCITA and DMCA are only the
beginning.  Disney, as Hal pointed out, is lobbying to rewrite the
copyright laws because they screwed up and copyrighted Mickey Mouse
instead of trademarked it.  If successful, they will reduce freedom
for all of the people in the country just to cover their own stupid
mistake.

That's what things are coming to.  The death of representative
government and the beginning of corporate tyranny.  Welcome to the
brave new world.

Regards,

Tony Hammitt

> --Mike
> 
> --
> Any sufficiently adverse technology is indistinguishable from Microsoft.