Tuesday, May 6, 2003

Dumb or scary, which is worse? DJs Suspended for Playing Dixie Chicks OK, I've about had it with this incredible attitude that says we can't or shouldn't criticize the president/government/military. This country was founded on dissent, on freedom of speech. It's one of the healthiest signs of thriving democracy that we have. This blatant corporate censorship is just not acceptable. So the DJs violated company policy, and were fired--understandable. But the policy is stupid, just stupid. So, now, I'm not a big fan of country music (as distinguished from the Americana style epitomized by KPIG just down the road), but after reading that story this morning I went to the Dixie Chicks official website and ordered all three of their albums. The least I can do in support of free speech is to support the artists whose speech is being trampled. And the other morning I heard KPIG playing the Dixie Chicks for the exact same reason. Hooray! Addendum:  In 1919 ex-President Roosevelt challenged Woodrow Wilson's sweeping crackdown against dissent after the American entry into WWI:      "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." 3:09:42 PM    Questions? Comments? Flames? []

Where to next? Doc Searls looks at the desperation that we see in Silicon Valley, and wonders if the tide is turning: We're outa here. Or are we?. I love Silicon Valley. In many ways, I still consider it home, mostly because its the geographic instantiation of the place where I really live, whcih is here: The Net. . . . [but on the migration:] Here's Michael Taht: Last week two friends decided to chuck the Silicon Valley. [but] Trendspotting? The joys and pains of capitalism. Do I have reason for hope? Is this the turning point? I'll bet it is.[The Doc Searls Weblog] Not a day has gone by recently that I haven't wondered where I would/should move to next. Someplace where there are jobs, with a growing economy. Someplace where the government isn't taking away the very freedoms it claims to defend. Someplace where I won't be more afraid of the government than of terrorists--does such a place exist? On the other hand, how good do I have it? I live by a lake in a rural, farming community, in a county envied by many Silicon Valley residents. Four days a week my commute is from the bedroom to the kitchen to my office down the hall. I have more broadband service than some residents of Silicon Valley. I have a job. So, am I crazy or what? 3:02:00 PM    Questions? Comments? Flames? []

And in Open Source news. . . Microsoft Trains Its Consultants in Linux, Java. Microsoft's move to train an estimated 140 members of its Microsoft Consulting Services staff in Linux and Java is an interesting one. [Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo Foley] Mary Jo's link to the referenced article contains an errant quotation mark at the end; try this one: http://www.vnunet.com/News/1140635 And in other news, PeopleSoft To Offer Portfolio in Linux. About time: some of their major competitors (not including Siebel) already run on Linux. Curious sidenote: when I accepted my first job at PeopleSoft, a consultant told me I was making a mistake because PeopleSoft only ran on Windows NT. Which was not the only thing she didn't know. Meanwhile, Tim Yager over at InfoWorld opines that Windows Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Whats' he running, then? Apple PowerBooks and Apple OS X servers running FreeBSD. And here at the Pajaro 'Pataphysical Institute we're running a Red Hat Linux server, a new PowerBook (OS 10.2), and a Win2K box, along with some older Windows boxen for the kids. All networked together. So there. 1:15:53 PM    Questions? Comments? Flames? []

© Copyright 2002-2005 Fred Sampson. Last update: 5/21/05; 10:17:46 PM.