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From: terry@cs.weber.edu (A Wizard of Earth C)
Subject: Re: Linux or 386BSD?
Message-ID: <1993Feb10.173725.2882@fcom.cc.utah.edu>
Sender: news@fcom.cc.utah.edu
Organization: Weber State University (Ogden, UT)
References: <1l6evhINN178@smurf.sti.com> <729313115snx@crynwr.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Feb 93 17:37:25 GMT
Lines: 75
In article <729313115snx@crynwr.com> nelson@crynwr.com (Russell Nelson) writes:
>In article <1kv7e4INNc8h@smurf.sti.com> dgreen@sti.com (Dan R. Greening) writes:
>
> Actually, it is somewhat annoying to see uninformative "try both" replys.
> Doesn't anyone have an honest opinion? It takes days to boot both,
>
>Honest opinion: I don't think 386bsd is worth bothering with, because it
>doesn't use the GNU GPL. In the long term, GPL'ed software will
>dominate, and I can't see wasting my time on 386bsd.
>
>Well, you asked for an opinion...
Honest opinion: I don't think Linux is worth bothering with, because it
uses the GNU GPL. In the long term, GPL'ed software will dominate, but
since we live in the here and now, we have to accept commercial realities.
There is no way to make a commercial success out of free software, or Lotus
and MicroSoft would be doing it; they are both chock full of smart
businessmen, as evidenced by the money they rake in. I realize that there
are small cottage software hoses making mone from support rather than the
sale of the software itself, but Lotus 123 and DOS and MicroSoft Word are
the types of successes I am talking about. For GPLed software to dominate,
GPL'ed products have to displace more than 50% of all products from their
leadership in market share.
There is nothing in the Berkeley license which prevents distribution of a
version under GPL; likewise, there is nothing which prevents commercial
distribution without sources. This means that 386BSD can be commercially
successful now *and* in some far flung future when everything is GPL'ed;
Linux, on the other hand, can only be commercially successful later.
Because of this, I can't see wasting my time on it. I would rather work
on something that will get used by more than 50% of the people using similar
software.
Think of it this way: Nothing prevents distribution of 386BSD under GPL;
why isn't it being distributed under GPL? Has not being distributed
under GPL made it unavailable to anyone?
Further, I can't distribute a Diamond driver or Motif under GPL -- source
will never be available -- but I can distribute binaries. The terms of
the GPL require sources to be available and that the license not be modified,
thus I can not even use a modified GPL to distribute binaries. Of course,
this won't be a problem in the future, since everyone will release their
drivers under GPL. I can't wait that long; can you?
>In article <1l6evhINN178@smurf.sti.com> dgreen@sti.com writes:
>
> As parochial as Diamond is about its card, my Linux experience gives me
> some sympathy for those with politically incorrect VGA drivers. I started
> looking in PC magazines for a decent hardware system and Diamond Stealth
> cards dominate the high-end market. I could imagine others having the same
> problems I had with my NE2000 card. Politically correct or not, deliberate
> non-support of Diamond cards will likely have the effect of pushing people
> toward a commercial Unix system--or not adopting Unix at all.
>
>No, you don't understand. It's not the Xfree people who aren't
>supporting Diamond, it's Diamond who's not supporting them. So don't
>reward them by buying their hardware...
Gotta agree with this... Diamond shot themselves in the foot; they can't
complain that it's our fault because we loaned them the bullet (purchased
their product under a promise of usability from a distributor they chose).
Terry Lambert
terry@icarus.weber.edu
terry_lambert@novell.com
---
Any opinions in this posting are my own and not those of my present
or previous employers.
--
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"I have an 8 user poetic license" - me
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