Last Tuesday 14 December 2004 06:31, Lee Revell was like: > Christ, what the fuck country do you live in? ? Non-US ;-) > Don't you understand the > concept of people having bills to pay? ?Or do you just assume the RME > guys are independenly wealthy and just design sound cards for fun? Absolute nonsense. We pay bills because we have a duty to do so, we pay taxes so that some services can be provided cooperatively. As I said earlier we needn't be naive about market forces, however, if we make that our number one priority over providing goods and services where they are needed, then we are lost. And you are involved with Linux because ...? Nobody is saying that the RME guys should do it for free. Everyone deserves a living out of what they do best, unfortunately it comes easier to some than others. We do need to hone our financial arguments and business strategy to encourage manufacturers to support Free Software, we need to be polite and consider things from their perspective. We do not have to condone a culture of greed. There is a very different feeling in Europe around the word 'socialism'. We have experienced Socialist governments, which bear little or no similarity to the Communism of the late USSR or China. Democratic Socialist governments have actually proved rather easier to live under than Democratic Capitalism. Socialism is desperately boring, doesn't provide all the answers by any means and I wouldn't normally defend it, Socialists can be just as ignorant about Patent issues (amongst other things) as Capitalists. It's the kind of mindless truisms offerred above that I object to. (actually, Marek ;). Stick to subjects you understand please. with respect tim hall http://glastonburymusic.org.uk
