[clug] Internode dumps FOSS for MS Exchange

[Chris Smart]

On Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 8:11 PM, Alex Satrapa <grail at goldweb.com.au> wrote:
> No, it doesn't matter, except to people who perceive everything Microsoft as being "evil".  I'm disappointed that they couldn't get FOSS solutions to do the same job, especially since the iPhone is quite FOSS friendly.

I still can't buy the whole "use the best tool for the job regardless"
ethos. That kind of thinking is what continues to permeate the
existing vendor lock-in model, which is bad for users, business,
government, everyone.

iPods might be the best tool for the job, but you're locked into
iTunes and Apple's store. Take Internode for example. Because they
bought Apple iPhones, they had to then go out and install Microsoft
MTA. There's something wrong with this picture.

We still suffer today from Microsoft's vendor lock-in, because we used
Microsoft Office instead of something which would ensure freedom down
the road (this is what I deal with every day at work).

The whole "best tool for the job" means that it would be OK to use an
iPhone, it's OK to use Microsoft Office, but that contradicts my hopes
for a free computing ecosystem. How does one reconcile this? How can I
balance a belief that users should be free from vendor-lockin and
support products which lock users in?

Sure, I make my own choice about what I use, but I work in the IT
industry too...

-c