| [Rant] osopinion: Close That Open Hardware! | ANN.lu |
| Posted on 12-Jun-2002 00:21 GMT by sutro | 169 comments
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A rather unispired article at best. Read
here for more.
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| osopinion: Close That Open Hardware! : Comment 148 of 169 | ANN.lu |
| Posted by Janne Sirén on 15-Jun-2002 20:47 GMT | In reply to Comment 147 (Adam Kowalczyk):
>Janne, your use of the word "factual" when referencing the petition is
>starting to annoy me almost as much as the use of the word FUD annoys Seehund.
If you read my replies carefully, you will notice that I speak of two sides to the petition. First, the facts it is based on (namely the Executive Update by McEwen) and, second, the opinion expressed by the undersigned. You have quoted mostly things that are obviously of the latter category.
I have always, I repeat, always, identified people's right to disagree with the opinion part and thus not sign the petition. That would be in stark contrast of me claiming the whole petition text to be made of facts. Clearly, since it is an expression of opinion, it is not. What I do not agree with is the allegation that the petition itself is fundamentally flawed.
The petition is expressing an opinion (undersigned's view, opinion, on how the market will evolve) based on a fact (Amiga Inc.'s statement on how they intend to market AmigaOS 4.x).
>There is very little, if anything factual in the petition other than Amiga
>Inc. has a licensing policy which they've identified for quality assurance and
>anti-piracy measures.
Agreed. But then, that is the imporant factual part. Amiga Inc. have introduced this licensing policy and the petition is based on that fact. If that fact were indeed a lie, the petition would be fundamentally flawed, but since Amiga have posted the principles of the policy on their site I do not think it is.
>Here are just a few tidbits from the petition that I would classify as mere
>speculation.
Well, that is the nature of the beast, isn't it? We don't know which licensing policy would benefit us the most in the end. Please don't claim anyone does (and so far you haven't). Nobody does. But people have differing views, opinions, based on differing world-views, knowledge etc. Expressing one of those views is exactly what this petition (and any petition for that matter) is all about.
>"We think that the above will seriously hurt AmigaOS users, the POP/PPC
>hardware market and thus ultimately you, Amiga Inc."
"We think" clearly implies opinion. Very much in line with a good petition.
Please think of the petition as a letter the undersigned send to Amiga Inc. That way you can think of the text in its right context. It is an opinion the undersigned express, based on a fact (Amiga Inc.'s statement of intention). I have never, ever, denied that is still an OPINION. What petition isn't?
>"AmigaOS users will be hurt because we unnecessarily lose options"
>There is only one option we've lost right now and that is the Pegasos board.
>Please identify what other options have been lost. I would classify this
>statement as FUD, if not FUD then it's extremely biased speculation.
I do agree that the assumption that there will be more POP boards or similar hardware is one of the more speculative points in this petition. Clearly options like Pegasos and Barbie may have been lost due to the licensing, and the belief that this will hurt Amiga users is a valid opinion, so technically that should not be in error.
However, the assumption that the POP market will somehow magically pick up is certainly one of the weaker arguments behind the petition. I think Ben Hermans listed some nice reasoning as to why that may not be the case. I still do feel the petition is based on a reasonable principle, though - that of being open to any hardware options out there without mandatory licensing. That is a clear goal even if at present it only concerns one or two products.
If you do not believe there will be a POP market, or that we will lose options due to this policy then, by all means, do not sign the petition. If you believe options will be limited, do consider signing. At this time we have no way of knowing how the market will shape up when actual products arrive. They aren't here yet, and no firm deadlines have been laid out recently.
And even if we lose only Pegasos, I personally would find that rather disappointing. Even more so if it is only because of licensing. But we don't know yet, perhaps some dealer will pick up the licensing deal - or perhaps the petition or something else will have effect and Amiga Inc. will adjust their policy, or... Clouded the future is.
>Time will tell whether or not the originator of the petition's crystal ball or
>Amiga Inc's crystal ball is telling the correct story.
Obviously, agreed.
And I _still_ haven't signed the petition. It is quite difficult to know what to think of all this. It is a complicated scenario if you look at it from all angles. I'm sure it hasn't been an easy decision to Amiga Inc. either, but all the more reason for them to get good feedback. I'd call this petition one of the more constructive initiatives I've seen if it ever does get delivered to Amiga Inc. in a final, polished form.
All I'm saying: the petition expresses an opinion we should respect, since it is based on a fact we can all confirm - the Amiga Inc. policy statement. even if we find flawed wordings in it. It is a just a product of human creation, not some evil device to bring down things Amiga(tm). IMHO anyway. |
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