Subject: Re: NetBSD US Government Certified?
To: None <netbsd-advocacy@NetBSD.ORG>
From: MLH <MLH@goathill.org>
List: netbsd-advocacy
Date: 08/05/2003 20:27:19
On 5 Aug 2003 14:10:01 -0500, David Laight wrote:
>> Let's read between the lines here:
> 
> You missed:
> 
> To force departments to buy 'certified' software from specific
> suppliers, effectively stopping and small (and especially foreign)
> companies competing due to the excessive costs of certification.
> 
> Some of the EMC tests have much the same effect.

To my knowledge *all* government licensing (scams) are simply
legalized protection rackets that accomplish three primary things:

1) increased revenue and control for the gov

2) more 'market' control for the big boys whose organizational
bureacracy is designed to comply/facilitate such

3) lowered technical bar to allow the lowest common denominator to
buy into the scam 

If Windows has actually bought into this scam, I believe you have
prima facie evidence for at least #3.

I was attempting to be gentle in the previous article. :^)