Ex-Microsoftie: Free Software Will Kill Redmond (ComputerWorld)

> In addition to knowing what memory is in use, a GC system knows
> the size of every buffer, and so can validate all reads and writes to
> memory.

Wrong, but the book is full of such statements. This concrete chapter is about reliability, but even for systems which do the described boundary checking, Mr. Curtis doesn't say how this helps building more reliable applications (not to speak of operating systems).

The author demonstrates that he has only a vague understanding of what garbage collection means, what it can do, and what it can _not_ do.

Regarding politics he writes on page 266:

> This book is about free software, but I'd like to end with a few
> words on a free press, free markets and a few other issues.
> [...]
> Reviewers told me that this material belongs in another book, but
> the problem is that everything here has already been written — it
> just hasn't been read and accepted yet! If we knowledge technolo-
> gists are to become the dominant political force, then there are a
> few things I think we should understand.

For the rest of the chapter he pushes his hardcore-conservative opinions.

Whatever you think of his opinion, I hope you agree with me that the Free-Software movement is not primarily a political one. Given that, I hope you also agree that politics do not belong into such a book, as long as they do not relate to Free Software directly.

Regards