McNealy in the WSJ
Bob Bernstein <rs <at> bernstein.providence.ri.us>
2006-03-04 06:44:56 GMT
The Wall Street Journal
Software Hardball
By SCOTT MCNEALY
March 3, 2006; Page A10
In principle at least, there is no controversy. No one would argue
that content you create belongs to anyone but you. But, in fact, it
doesn't.
That's the dirty little secret behind much of the software people use
today. In business, in government, in schools and in homes all around
the world, we entrust our work to software applications: word
processors, spreadsheets, presentation programs and all the rest. And,
too often, that's where we lose control of our own words and thoughts
-- simply on account of the way we save our documents. Because we tend
to store information in formats that are owned and managed by a single
dominant company, in a few short years we may no longer be able to
access our files if the format is "upgraded." Or we may be required to
buy a new expensive version of the software just to access our own
thoughts. We do it without giving it a second thought. After all,
what's the alternative? A typewriter? An adding machine? A quill?
Think about it: If the Constitution were being drafted today, we would
likely lose free, or low cost, or even any kind of access to much of
the vital background in the Framers' correspondence to one another --
all because the file format will no longer be supported sometime in
the future. A letter is more or less permanent, and easily
transferable to different environments. An email is not.
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