Linux World domination (was Re: [NCLUG] PC for Linux (Ubuntu))

Paul Hummer paul at eventuallyanyway.com
Fri Sep 19 16:12:12 MDT 2008


Chad-

<disclaimer>Below is my opinion, and has no citations.  Chad and I have
had many conversations about licenses, and while we both love free
software, we agree to disagree on some of the niggle-points.</disclaimer>

>   2. I'm surprised at the way this discussion has, in several branchings
>   from the main trunk, gone from referring to Free/Libre/Open Source
>   software to specifically talking about the GPL.  I probably shouldn't
>   be, since it seems like 98% of the open source world normally doesn't
>   consider that there are open source licenses other than the GPL (or
>   open source OSes other than those based on the Linux kernel and GNU
>   toolset), but for some reason it always surprises me that people who
>   have so much experience with others essentially being unwilling to
>   admit the existence of OSes other than MS Windows would then suffer the
>   same selective blindness with regards to open source software.

  I, too, liked the term "freed software."  While there are many open
source and free software licenses that are VERY good, and have great
applications, when I think about free software I instantly think GPL.
Sorry, it's a habit, and I don't mean to belittle other free software
licenses. When I think of the BSD license, one software that boils
my blood is OS X.  I'm really disappointed that a company can make gobs
of money off the work offered free by people.  While the license itself
allows for that, it seems morally wrong to me (once again, morals are
personal).  It almost feels like a slave who was freed during the civil
war, but then captured and made a slave again (sorry, I listen to a lot
of reggae).

  The BSD license is great, and some of my favorite software is licensed
as such.  But if you're going to make gobs of money, please be kind and
give credit (in all forms) where credit is due.

- --
Paul Hummer

http://theironlion.net



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