Microsoft proclaimed in 2002 that the "era of 'open computing...'" was "...coming to an end". Just like their proclamations about the Internet 'fad', they could not have been more wrong...

Publisher's Note: While nothing in this article is in the least bit humorous, it is possible that the sheer incongruity of Microsoft's statements, considered against the backdrop of reality, will have you busting your gut. So please, don't drink (or eat) and read. We cannot be responsible for any choking-related incidents.

I was scouring the Internet today, in search of interesting Free Software projects, when I ran across the DotGNU project's website. On the front page, the project lists, among its motivations, "A desire to prevent Microsoft from achieving their stated goal 'that the era of 'open computing,' the free exchange of digital information that has defined the personal computer industry, is ending'". Well, I was going to say, "Don't laugh yet", but truthfully, I am too.

The DotGNU project was quoting a Microsoft statement made in the New York Times. They link to a more complete explanation, where you can read the Microsoft comments in context. The statement was made in 2002. I immediately began giggling. The giggles came on me like the Toronto Blessing. Simultaneously the articles I've written over the past month - never mind the past nearly two years that I have been a journalist.

I distinctly recall writing in 2005 about how many people were migrating from Windows to GNU/Linux. I think of the sheer number of people who responded to a straw poll, with the only things stopping most people from migrating were games and one or two specialty applications. I don't have to work too hard to remember Dell launching a lineup of Ubuntu-based computers - and the subsequent announcements of intent from other vendors. This is because GNU/Linux was the most-requested feature from Dell's website visitors - and by a mile.

I recall, too, the loud throng of voices that overruled Fox's airing of a biased article on its website pertaining to the OpenDocument battle in Massachusetts. I distinctly recall the approval of OpenDocument as an ISO standard, against the background of the initial rejection of OOXML. I recall the consistent voices, including my own, from across the community, calling for a single, free and open standard upon which any application could build.

I have witnessed as various branches of the Free Software Foundation have sprung up in Latin America, India, and Europe. I read, with millions of others, how Kerala, India moved toward Free/Open Source Software. Latin American governments have implemented Free Software and Free Culture initiatives to promote freedom and openness. Religious organizations have begun investigating the benefits of Free Software. Educational systems around the globe are implementing Free Software to save money and avoid running afoul of strict licensing requirements from the non-libre vendors.

And, speaking of the free exchange of digital information, the Free Culture movement, in tandem with the anti-DRM movement have not diminished, but grown. I dare say the vast majority of FOSS and Free Culture websites out there license their material under some sort of libre license, either the GNU Free Document License, or the Creative Commons licenses. And what of the GNU General Public License? Hundreds of projects have already upgraded to version 3, and more plan to do so.

It is most apparent "that the era of 'open computing,' the free exchange of digital information that has defined the personal computer industry" has not ended. Nor is it likely to end anytime soon. Microsoft tried and Microsoft failed. Miserably. They failed so miserably and completely that even they cannot avoid using Free Software (any networking protocols come to mind?) in their own software. Microsoft has threatened, cajoled, harassed, intimidated - and possibly even bribed. And still it has failed to dam up "the free exchange of digital information".

Oh yes, and by the way... Microsoft is now trying to submit licenses to the Open Source Initiative for approval. They are trying to prove their document format is 'open enough' to be an ISO standard. Yes, that's right. Never mind that bit about 'the era of open computing coming to an end'. I bet they thought that line would have been long-forgotten by now. Shhh... Wouldn't want to drag that skeleton out of the closet now, would we?

No. The era of open computing, the free exchange of digital information, which is so necessary to a free society, has not come to an end, but rather to a new dawn. And the day lies ahead of us yet.