I have often thought of the idea of having a symbolic
strike. Programmers
would go out with their pickets signs on
their lunch hour or after hours, on
the weekend, etc. Only
with their employer's blessings would they go out at any
other time. In fact, the programmers would make it
abundantly clear the strike
is not against their employer,
but rather, against the system, and work to
garner their
employer's support wherever possible. It would all be a huge
publicity stunt, in effect, but it would sure garner a lot
of publicity if we
had masses of programmers out there.
As Stegu commented above, I feel a
silent rage every time
I see news about yet another stupid software patent,
eroding
away my future as a programmer. These big companies like
Apple,
Microsoft, and Nokia, must be patenting software idea
by the thousands, at a
pace no individual or small company
could ever hope to keep up with. The patent
thicket is
growing by leaps and bounds. It's the old Klondyke Gold
Rush, but
unlike the original gold rush, only the big
wealthy companies can pan for gold.
They are staking claims
in the Yukon, and will soon have it all sewn up. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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