by Matt Asay

Jonathan Schwartz to Ballmer: Try innovating, not litigating

analysis
May 15, 20071 min

Jonathan Schwartz offers free advice to Microsoft:You would be wise to listen to the customers you're threatening to sue - they can leave you, especially if you give them motivation. Remember, they wouldn't be motivated unless your products were somehow missing the mark. All of which is to say - no amount of fear can stop the rise of free media, or free software (they are the same, after all). The community is v

Jonathan Schwartz offers free advice to Microsoft:

You would be wise to listen to the customers you’re threatening to sue – they can leave you, especially if you give them motivation. Remember, they wouldn’t be motivated unless your products were somehow missing the mark.

All of which is to say – no amount of fear can stop the rise of free media, or free software (they are the same, after all). The community is vastly more innovative and powerful than a single company. And you will never turn back the clock on elementary school students and developing economies and aid agencies and fledgling universities – or the Fortune 500 – that have found value in the wisdom of the open source community. Open standards and open source software are literally changing the face of the planet – creating opportunity wherever the network can reach.

That’s not a genie any litigator I know can put back in a bottle.

Amen.