Turning up the heat

BSA's recent campaign to stamp out piracy by raiding establishments that use pirated software is gaining some new friends for Linux and F/OSS.

In the mailing lists I frequent, there are numerous threads about how to migrate to Linux; can Linux do this and that; what X software to use in replacement of (proprietary) Y; etc. In our area, there has been a scramble to install Linux in gaming and internet cafes, and, to some extent, in offices and homes.

Microsoft, BSA and company may not realize it but their current FUD campaign might blow in their faces, because instead of gaining "legal" customers, they will lose them to open source. As one list subscriber pointed out, BSA has become an unofficial business partner for Linux and F/OSS.

And it's all good -- for open source and the advocacy, I mean.

By turning up the heat, BSA may well be frying themselves in their own fat.