[NCLUG] Re: Thoughts on Linux Users

[Brian Wood]

Sean Reifschneider wrote:
> On Sat, Nov 10, 2007 at 12:27:54PM -0700, Brian Wood wrote:
>> That sounds good, in theory, but often licenses are so confusing that
>> even sophisticated users can't tell if they are in violation.
> 
> I don't know about that, but I do know that there are plenty of people who
> are obviously in violation.  I'm not talking a bout someone who got a
> laptop with Windows pre-installed, never booted the hard drive on the
> laptop, and instead put the hard drive in another machine to run...  I'm
> talking things like borrowing a set of CDs from a friend or family member
> and installing it..
> 
>> For example: I purchase a laptop with XP pre-installed. I never even
>> boot XP but install Linux on it. Does this mean I now have an XP license
>> and can install it on another machine? (The Vista license makes clear
>> this is not allowed, but the XP license leaves the question open).
> 
> Wow, I wrote the above before I read this paragraph.  :-)
> 
>> Any enforcement of software licenses should take into account the
>> "intent" of the "violator". Did he intended to defraud the vendor to
> 
> Yeah, but you can't dust for intent.

I guess it's not the paying that I object to so much as the time and
trouble to figure out when and how much I should pay.

It's just another advantage of OSS software that the entire issue goes
away for end users (It does cause potential problems for commercial
entities selling products using OSS. For example I believe the situation
with the GP2X was caused, at least in part, by a genuine
misunderstanding of the GPL by the vendor. As for TiVo I'm not so sure.

It guess in the end it's "every man do what's right in his own eyes".
Please forgive the biblical quotation (Judges 17:6).

beww