Misc. Ramblings

Groklaw has an article that says Microsoft's Bill Gates is threatening to pull 800 jobs from Denmark if the Danes don't get religion and support software patents.

According to the article, Gates, speaking to the Danes like a master would to a dog, warned Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Economic and Business Minister Bendt Bendtsen and Science Minister Helge Sander that they must not block the disputed European Union directive on patenting software. Otherwise, Gates indicated, he would close an MS owned, but Danish based company called Navision.

It is so refreshing to see how elected Premier Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates speaks to his European inferiors peers. But, I guess, money talks so expect that Mr. Gates will eventually get what he wants.

Yesterday I talked about the stink that is coming from Redmond. A stink coming from the internal rot and decay that is Microsoft. But I've long been a pragmatist when it comes to software. That is, all other things being equal, I choose the tool that works best for me. And for many years, most of those tools were on Windows. But the day is rapidly approaching wherein those tools, or ones better than them, will be available on other systems.

The wise are now experimenting with these tools so that they will be ready when that new dawning arrives. Are you ready?

Aloha!