Exceedingly OT - Re: [OS X TeX] tex, pdf, and doc

[Victor Ivrii]

On 9/4/06, Steffen Hokland <hokland at mr.au.dk> wrote:
> > Pay attention on TeX-like. This means that in addition to M$-java and
> > M$-javascript  we will get M$-TeX, M$-LaTeX and so on and these new M$
> > TeX macros will pollute environment exactly in the same way.
> Yeah - before we know it, TeX and friends will be the property of M$,
> and we'll need to pay royalties.

Not really. But TeX community will be not able to follow the way of
Sun and legally challenge M$. Our University hired some company to
develop services allows f.e. every employee to see his/her pay slip,
tax slip etc. These scripting monkeys laced ever page with unhealthy
javascripts (analysis of which clearly demonstrates that they were
written by different authors for different versions according to
different rules). Every major new page introduced works only with
M$IE. When first such page appears (pay slip) I wrote the letter to VP
Human Resources but these guys tried to resist. After little pressure
they (silently) fixed scripts. When new page (tax slips) were
introduced, it also worked with M$IE only, but again I complained and
they fixed it without resistance  ("bloody amateurs" and "script
junkies" were the most polite expressions in my letters).




>
> It's kinda weird, because when Bill Gates donated I don't know how
> many billions of dollars to AIDS-research he stipulated that all
> research groups receiving funding were obligated to share all gained
> knowledge with all other receiving groups, independent of the
> outcome. That idea deserves a lot of credit. Why all the closed,
> proprietary stuff when it comes to software?

What is AIDS? It is the state when the person is very prone to
different viruses. Computer have this state too: it is called Windows.
So, some part of money, gained from development and distribution of
computer AIDS is given to find a cure for human Windows :-)

>
> Sorry people - I'll stop spamming you know - if for nothing else,
> then for the sake of my blood pressure,

Bashing M$ is a religious duty of everyone in this list. And trust me:
it works better an my blood pressure than any doctor prescribed
medicine :-)

> Steffen
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>


-- 
========================
Victor Ivrii, Department of Mathematics, University of Toronto
http://www.math.toronto.edu/ivrii
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