August 31st, 2009
Dissecting the FSF's "Windows 7 Sins"
Several Hardware 2.0 regulars have dropped me an email wondering what my take is on the Free Software Foundations “Windows 7 Sins” campaign.
The purpose of the campaign is to show how “proprietary software in general and Microsoft Windows in particular hurt all computer users” and how the new OS commits the seven cardinal sins of “invading privacy, poisoning education, locking users in, abusing standards, leveraging monopolistic behavior, enforcing Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), and threatening user security.”
But how valid are each of the seven “sins” outlined by the FSF, and how many are specific to Microsoft and Windows, and how many apply to commercial or proprietary software in general? Let’s take a look at each sin in turn:
1. Poisoning education: Today, most children whose education involves computers are being taught to use one company’s product: Microsoft’s. Microsoft spends large sums on lobbyists and marketing to corrupt educational departments. An education using the power of computers should be a means to freedom and empowerment, not an avenue for one corporation to instill its monopoly.
A few years ago I might have agreed with the FSF on this one, but I don’t think that it’s valid any more. Increasingly schools are moving away from Microsoft operating systems and software. Unfortunately for the FSF, the move is towards Apple.
Taking a wider look at the issue, Microsoft isn’t the only company offering students deep discounts on software packages in order to “encourage” them to become familiar with the software.
Verdict: No sin here …
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Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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