[philip.j.fry]

Originally Posted by towny

I don't claim ownership of them except in the way I am entitled, as a voter in a democratic society, to have a say in how things are done here. You have the same privilege

Thank you towny, this is basically what I have been trying to put across. My right to, as Jerrek puts it, 'tell' MS or any other company how I believe they should behave comes from my being an individual in a world of individuals that interact through their beliefs and opinions. Anybody elses opinions are equally as valid and is through consensus (such as the democratic process) that the actual way forward is found. It may as well be asked what right does an atom have to influence the paths of the atoms around it.

Originally Posted by towny

Linux is an operating system kernel, normally suurounded by GNU tools, even though the GNU project has long been developing a kernel of its own. Then you can choose from a range of GUIs to sit on top of it all. So anyone who uses Linux has already enjoyed far more free choice than they would be permitted by Microsoft.

Plus there is the choice of ntfs in the kernel

Originally Posted by Jerrek

I'm sorry. You can't possibly claim to want to protect liberties and freedoms and in the same breath advocate severe and drastic restrictions.

Well it's a good job that I didn't then isn't it? If you'll look more closely at what I said, I support the maximum amount of liberty that supports everyone. Running a business influences the lives of others, so in those cases community opinion matters.

Originally Posted by Jerrek

*shrug* Thats fine, as long as you realize then that you're basically a socialist, not someone that advocates free enterprise and capitalism

You make it sound like a bad thing, and I know that from your perspective it is. I already acknowledge that I am a socialist, I do not advocate capitalism, from my perspective it is the bad thing. Can you not see that their are no absolutes here, that it is only opinion that matters. I am not trying to sway you to my perspective, I am not trying to rubbish yours, I am merely putting across my personal belief in an open discussion. So if you cannot stomach my opinions, don't read them. I am always open to persuasion, if you feel it is worth doing so ('saving my soul') then do so, but shouting, quoting from sources whose philosophies are quite alien to my own (Ms Rand) and rubbishing my opinions are not the way to go about it.