Are we trying to beat one monopoly by supporting another one?

~ toscalix

Lately news about the support Mozilla is receiving from Google has made me think…

Firefox is a great tool, specially is you use Windows. With Linux or Mac/OS you have more good choices.

I promote firefox everywhere I go, specially in courses where I teach. Most of the computer labs I teach in have Windows XP, so one of my objetives when I teach beginners is to break the Windows+MSN Messenger+Hotmail+Windows Live+MSNSearch association that most of them love (because it is the only thing they know).The combination Windows+Firefox+Google+Goolge talk+Gmail+Blogger is a natural option but…

Am I fighting against a monopoly by supporting another one?

I’ve decided I’m going to change some of the exercises and introduce more tools to avoid this situation I’m worry about.

Firstable I’ll use Yahoo again, like in the early days, once in a while, so students get confortable with it as well as with Google. Almost nobody uses Yahoo in Spain. I’ll also use Opera, not just Firefox, until I find another browser libre (kde browser for windows?) that I like. I’ll try to use pidgin or PSI as a IM client (kopete for windows?) and, by now, I’m not going to promote any webmail but Gmail or any blog tool but Blogger. I’ll think about it anyway.

By doing this, I hope my student get more open to try different tools and I calm my worries about what it looks like it can happen in the near future.

If you have any suggestion, I’m open to read and consider it. Maybe switch to linux + KDE….right?

Agustin Benito Bethencourt (Toscalix)
@toscalix
Linkedin profile: http://linkedin.com/in/toscalix

8 thoughts on “Are we trying to beat one monopoly by supporting another one?”

  2. Well, you are right on 50%. That 50% is: google, mozilla monopolies is bad.Now 50% you are not right:It’s the motivation. You are motivated jut to try new tools, but not to think about what exactly bad things in google, (and, earlier, in Microsoft). Try to catch the bad influence of google and mozilla and you will get the idea.

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  3. I think you should stick to XMPP/Jabber (that includes Gtalk and LJtalk). And exclude free-speech-unfriendly things (see Yahoo! Answers above).And explain free software to them, also that web applications are < HREF="http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Free_Software_and_Beyond:_Human_Rights_in_the_Use_of_Software_and_Other_Published_Works#element(bodyContent/102)" REL="nofollow">“evil” (see the fourth question)<>. People now are unlikely to run a mail/blog service for themselves, but they don’t need a service which runs on free software, they just need one which values their privacy (< HREF="http://valleywag.com/tech/scoop/facebook-employees-know-what-profiles-you-look-at-315901.php" REL="nofollow">that excludes Facebook<>).Re 2nd comment: gOS uses alot of Google services in default setup, but it isn’t made/run by Google. I have the impression that was what you meant, so I want to spell it out.

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  4. Now that I read your message in more detail: I must say that this is doesn’t make any sense.Why does using yahoo look like a good idea? Do you recognize those guys will ban you from yahoo answers for suggesting Linux?And wtf Opera? That is not even “open source” which is easy after MS’ licenses became open source… Please, be serious. Now that’s a market drug, when you are using opera and promoting it you are seriously helping a new monopoly rise.See the responses to Matt Asay’s FUD: http://www.cnet.com/8301-13739_1-9776759-46.htmlAnd as I said, promoting firefox cannot promote a monopoly, because firefox cannot lock you in, because it is open source and free software. Which means that if mozilla turns evil some day we can have thousands of browser with the same abilities and without the evil things.Is getting support from google a bad thing? I guess we would have to stop using KDE since so many projects are full of filthy summer of code money…

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  7. With the ever increasing influence of Google (think youtube and the recently announced gOS and Android) this situation becomes indeed more and more horrifying. Not that Google does anything bad right now (well except for eclipsing any possible competition). But it’s still a very awful thought what might happen if all the power Google has would get into the wrong hands.

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