I can barely believe I’m writing this, but today, ladies and gentlement, I am finally coming out of copyright-ambivalence to fully endorse the elimination of patent law, copyright law, industrial secret law, and trademark dilution statutes. And this is the story that finally pushed me over the edge into accepting Stephen Kinsella’s views on the topic.
A high-ranking executive at Microsoft has suggested an internet usage tax to pay for government intervention for ‘cybersecurity.’ To quote the man, “”You could say it’s a public safety issue and do it with general taxation.” The irony of this is that Microsoft is now suggesting that the government force you, the taxpayer and most likely Microsoft product user, to pay for the expensive clean-up for a problem foisted on you by, guess who? — Microsoft and the government.
Let me explain in detail. Laws on copyright, patent, and industrial secrets have enabled Microsoft to corner the market on the market for basic computer software on a vast majority of all the computers in the world. Furthermore, they have been enabled with the threat of legal force to publish their software in such a way that the world cannot legally see what is inside the software programs, and therefore all of us but the bad guys cannot see potential threats to security before they emerge.
And when the majority of computers in the world share the exact same hidden security flaws that are by law undiscoverable, it is to come as no suprise, then, when these security flaws lead to sudden massive attacks on millions of computer users. And now Microsoft wants the government to take your money to correct its errors.
I propose a radically different solution. I propose that we repeal state laws that grant monopolistic powers to Microsoft and hide its software in a shroud of secrecy, so that the growing millions of programming savvy people throughout the world can easily and find and publicly correct security threats.
This sort of IP law change would lead to a much higher status for open-source operating systems, such as Linux. And people would begin moving toward free and open-source solutions to security problems, like using Firefox or Chrome instead of of Intenert Explorer, like sending important files hidden encrypted through military-grade free encryption software like PGP and TrueCrypt, and avoiding malicious sites through grass-roots based malware flagging efforts like Web of Trust. Information can be and will be better protected in an environment free from governmental interventionism.
People have a natural urge to secure their personal information, and so do companies. And they can and will do so if they are given the freedom to choose whatever it is they want to use to secure it. And open-source programming will lead to more secure solutions.
Here’s a series of links to major groups working to improve the internet and computers in general by means of open-source methods. May they make Microsoft and their ilk obsolete.
Linux, Ubuntu, Red Hat — Operating systems competing against Windows. They’re free.
OpenOffice.org — A free software suite that can do everything the Microsoft Office suite can, but for free–Word, Powerpoint, and some other stuff.
Firefox, Chrome — free browsers, way better than the standard Internet Explorer.
Truecrypt — Software that encrypts stuff so securely that I would rather have my sensitive information online but Truecrypted than in a vault underneath my house. You can even use it to encrypt your whole computer.
Web of Trust — For firefox; it warns users of dangerous sites.
oh, the delicious irony of it all — microsoft suggests internet tax
I can barely believe I’m writing this, but today, ladies and gentlement, I am finally coming out of copyright-ambivalence to fully endorse the elimination of patent law, copyright law, industrial secret law, and trademark dilution statutes. And this is the story that finally pushed me over the edge into accepting Stephen Kinsella’s views on the topic.
A high-ranking executive at Microsoft has suggested an internet usage tax to pay for government intervention for ‘cybersecurity.’ To quote the man, “”You could say it’s a public safety issue and do it with general taxation.” The irony of this is that Microsoft is now suggesting that the government force you, the taxpayer and most likely Microsoft product user, to pay for the expensive clean-up for a problem foisted on you by, guess who? — Microsoft and the government.
Let me explain in detail. Laws on copyright, patent, and industrial secrets have enabled Microsoft to corner the market on the market for basic computer software on a vast majority of all the computers in the world. Furthermore, they have been enabled with the threat of legal force to publish their software in such a way that the world cannot legally see what is inside the software programs, and therefore all of us but the bad guys cannot see potential threats to security before they emerge.
And when the majority of computers in the world share the exact same hidden security flaws that are by law undiscoverable, it is to come as no suprise, then, when these security flaws lead to sudden massive attacks on millions of computer users. And now Microsoft wants the government to take your money to correct its errors.
I propose a radically different solution. I propose that we repeal state laws that grant monopolistic powers to Microsoft and hide its software in a shroud of secrecy, so that the growing millions of programming savvy people throughout the world can easily and find and publicly correct security threats.
This sort of IP law change would lead to a much higher status for open-source operating systems, such as Linux. And people would begin moving toward free and open-source solutions to security problems, like using Firefox or Chrome instead of of Intenert Explorer, like sending important files hidden encrypted through military-grade free encryption software like PGP and TrueCrypt, and avoiding malicious sites through grass-roots based malware flagging efforts like Web of Trust. Information can be and will be better protected in an environment free from governmental interventionism.
People have a natural urge to secure their personal information, and so do companies. And they can and will do so if they are given the freedom to choose whatever it is they want to use to secure it. And open-source programming will lead to more secure solutions.
Here’s a series of links to major groups working to improve the internet and computers in general by means of open-source methods. May they make Microsoft and their ilk obsolete.
Linux, Ubuntu, Red Hat — Operating systems competing against Windows. They’re free.
OpenOffice.org — A free software suite that can do everything the Microsoft Office suite can, but for free–Word, Powerpoint, and some other stuff.
Firefox, Chrome — free browsers, way better than the standard Internet Explorer.
Truecrypt — Software that encrypts stuff so securely that I would rather have my sensitive information online but Truecrypted than in a vault underneath my house. You can even use it to encrypt your whole computer.
Web of Trust — For firefox; it warns users of dangerous sites.
Panda Cloud — Cutting-edge antivirus protection.
Tor — browsing through Tor’s free network helps make your online activities invisible to third parties.
SourceForge — A site for finding even more opensourceware. Great stuff.
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