No, he's not. He is completely ignorant of history. Even if you can't see it right now, there is trap hidden somewhere in Microsoft's actions. There is ALWAYS a hidden trap in any apparently-friendly action Microsoft takes. You either see it up front and avoid Microsoft like the plague that it is, or you fall victim to the trap after it's sprung.

Don't any of you remember Microsoft's last promise to not sue over Dot Net runtime patents?! On the surface, it seemed like Microsoft had turned a corner away from the Dark Side. But a closer analysis revealed that Microsoft's promise only extended to one very specific version of the Dot Net runtime, which was a version that was quickly superceded by the next version of the Dot Net runtime.

The trap was that we were meant to believe that we were covered by the patent pledge for the Dot Net runtime. However, if you tried to implement Microsoft's superceding version, the patent pledge no longer applied.

Rather than trying to figure out whether you're the dinner guest or the dinner in the wolf's lair, it's just far safer to stay away from the wolf altogether. No one ever got eaten by staying away from Microsoft.

Measles is one of several diseases that was nearly eradicated before the vaccine was introduced. The effectiveness of the Measles vaccine is based more on religious faith than on science.

The recent New York "outbreak" of 24 cases (only 24 cases, but whatever: we like a good hysterical response to a non-issue) consisted of 20 people who were vaccinated and 4 that were not. That does not speak well to the effectiveness of this particular vaccine, but does lend credence to the notion that good sanitation is more effective than the pharmaceutical cash grab that is modern vaccinations.

More damning of the Measles vaccine is that the source of the New York outbreak was a fully vaccinated person. Measles vaccinations seem a lot like snake oil.

That ship has sailed, and is not coming back. When the American Government is indistinguishable from any other type of criminal, you are well advised to protect yourself from them all.

"Proprietary" means:

1) Support can be pulled at any time for any reason, and there isn't a thing you can do about it. See Visual Basic (it's so bizarre that you argue against your point, but don't even realize it).

2) You are locked-in to the vendor's whims, and there isn't a thing you can do about it.

3) You are restricted to the vendor's supported platforms, and there isn't a thing you can do about it.

4) You have no idea what is going on under the hood, and there isn't a thing you can do about it (under threat of fine and/or imprisonment).

There are more, but I don't have time.