>>> 1) ... What proportion of Mono uses Microsoft's patented technology,
>>> including that which is is part of the ECMA specifications?

>> Read our policy on patents (Microsoft or otherwise):

>> http://www.mono-project.com/FAQ:_Licensing

>> Which is not different than any other open source project.

> It sure as hell is different:

>>> 3) ... To what degree do you Trust Microsoft, either in terms of their
>>> promises; their motivations; or their commitment to a competing platform
>>> like Linux?

>> This is a question that is suitable for Teen magazine or Cosmo.

>>> 4) ... Do you foresee a point in the future where access to much of the
>>> Web might be impossible, or at least extraordinarily difficult, without
>>> the use of Silverlight, much like Microsoft tried to do with ActiveX and
>>> other proprietary; encumbered; and non-standard technology during the
>>> Netscape years?

>> Another question suitable for Teen magazine.

>> I have blogged extensively about this question, you might want to read
>> my blog on those subjects.  There are two dimensions to this problem,
>> and I have addressed both: a) Microsoft providing a tool that
>> people actually want to use, with a feature range of things that
>> are genuinely useful while nobody else is;

> Isn't that statement rather, uh, arrogant?

> You need to rephrase it.  The question is whether it is good to convert
> citizens into second-class citizens on the web by virtue of restricting
> their access to content to a format promulgated by a large, powerful,
> and dominant corporation, requiring the relatively expensive purchase of
> a proprietary (and unlicensed for production by any other vendor)
> operating system.