Subject: Re: GNU vs MS a tolkien approach
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.development.system,gnu.misc.discuss
Reply-To: michael@stentor.demon.co.uk
Date: Sun, 05 Jul 98 21:38:19 GMT
From: Michael@stentor.demon.co.uk (Old Adam)

In article <3598e01e.0@cisun2000.unil.ch> Alain.Borel@icma.unil.ch  writes:

>  Melkor, later called Morgoth (after he stole the Silmarils from the Noldor
>   elves) took
>  Sauron as a chief leutenant. I think Sauron turned away from Morgoth, but he
>   was just
>  pretending (saving his skin) and came back to the dark side soon after.
>  

The fact that IBM and Microsoft are operating at the same 
time, undermines the analogy.  But IBM's 'error' with MSDOS was
so amazing that we are all free to suppose that the necromancy
of the two towers is linked, that Gates has the Ring - the 
power to bind all PCs - because he was meant to have it and by
its real maker.  It is not a comforting thought.

The fish-wives at the Grey Havens say that all serious
innovations in the history of computing have been sponsored by 
the Pentagon - until Microsoft.  We must fear that the Big 
Blue Istari have all defected to Sauron, but that they want to
cloak the hands that pull us to our doom.  Gates was the
hobbit they found for the job.  The Ring is now devouring him
and the Pentagon/IBM have deniability.

Linus Bombadil runs a curiously innocent system for 
Withywindle Inc, but when the FSF met in Rivendell - with the 
Elf-lord Caldera and the wizard Red Hat Radagast - linux was
judged unready for general release: trouble with barrow-wights
hit beta-testers within a few hours of booting.  
Stallman, the Grey Pilgrim, explained that microsoft code
must be used under no circumstances.  Every logic gate or 
register that twitches in obedience to a miscrosoft system
call will bind humanity remorselessly to enslavement.  The
free coders of the world must use the GPL and delete
everything else.


Old Adam

"Linux? Sir, we have a year 229T Problem."