The spyware (at least last time I checked) isn't installed without
permission. If a person installs
Kazaa they knowingly have agreed to do so. Ignorance is not an excuse.
So? It's still reason for OOo not to want to be associated with them, in the
same way that we would not publicize a testimonial that Enron or Al Queda
used OOo (though those are, of course, much more clear-cut).
Which of course is OO's perogative... but Kazaa at least from what you were saying was trying to
provide (agruably) a legitimate distribution channel for OO via a legitimate service. Especially since
OO is free, I don't see a problem with it.
Now on the flip side I think that distribution through Kazaa is going to help Kazaa more than it would
help OO... as Kazaa is more of a desparate need to prove that they are legitamite.
Same thing with the music piracy angle. Regardless of what we do, a certain
number of execs think that Open Source must be stealing because it's "free".
I have never actually ran into that. Not saying it exists, but most execs that I run into just don't
understand how it works but usually it is more in the vein of "Why do it if its free"...
Microsoft's marketing campaigns which paint Linux and OOo as
"anti-capitalist".
That is not exactly untrue. It is also not exactly a bad thing. Linux is anti-captilist to some degree.
Linux is more socio-capitlism where the better good overrides the larger dollar. Today's capitalism doesn't
look that far. Although it should as the better good in the end will bring the larger dollar.
Mind you, Kazaa can distribute OOo whenever they wish but
it was up to us whether we participated in their PR, and we decided not to.
Given that you sell copyrighted material for a living, I find your attitude
surprising. Or are you simply playing devil's advocate?
Part of it is Devil's Advocate. Part of it is irritation at being snowed in for over a week. Part of it
is me wanting to explore the argument further.
In reality I think that your choice specifically for Kazaa and OO was probably the right one. I didn't
realize that they wanted the whole PR thing. I wouldn't want that PR either. I thought it was more
of a "We don't want you do distribute OO" type of thing where I could see Kazaa actually doing
you some good.
Sincerely,
Joshua D. Drake
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