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From: peter@nmti.com (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.networking,comp.os.linux.setup,comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.os.os2.advocacy
Subject: What's it mean to be "free"?
Date: 27 Jan 1997 17:45:28 GMT
Organization: Network/development platform support, NMTI
Lines: 40
Message-ID: <5cipjo$1qu@web.nmti.com>
References: <32DFFEAB.7704@usa.net> <m23evrulla.fsf@desk.crynwr.com> <32EA25AB.41C67EA6@freebsd.org> <5qC7y0gTzDLB091yn@ibm.net>
NNTP-Posting-Host: sonic.nmti.com
X-Re: Linux vs whatever
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.misc:154452 comp.os.linux.networking:66283 comp.os.linux.setup:94071 comp.unix.bsd.bsdi.misc:5748 comp.unix.bsd.misc:2044 comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy:51081 comp.os.os2.advocacy:263704
In article <5qC7y0gTzDLB091yn@ibm.net>,
Mouth of the South <mouth@ibm.net> wrote:
> In article <32EA25AB.41C67EA6@freebsd.org>,
> "John S. Dyson" <dyson@freebsd.org> wrote:
> >FreeBSD is a fully integrated tool and OS, with runtime that can
> >be put into embedded product without redistribution encumberances
> In other words, any greedy corporation can take the BSD source code,
> add a few features to make a derived work, and sell their derived work
> without revealing their source code, right?
And yet, and yet, it's the FreeBSD distribution that reveals everything
you need to reconstruct it, including all the installation and development
tools, not the Linux ones. And it's the BSD development teams that give
each other access to their CVS trees... but this Linux CDROM set I got
from Yggdrasil only has *part* of the Red Hat package on it.
IF an greedy corporation wants to use a GPLed product without revealing
their intellectual property, they can. There's papers and seminars on that
very subject. A lot of companies have gotten behind Linux because they
can use it without giving away the farm... despite the GPL's attempt at
limiting that sort of thing.
Why look at what I picked up at Usenix. It's the GNUs Bulletin. And right
inside the cover is Richard Stallman bemoaning that very thing... his
intentions were the very best, but he doesn't seem to quite understand
people.
I have no complaint with Red Hat limiting access to their stuff. They've
got every right to do that. It sells Red Hat CDs and gives them the resources
to do all the cool stuff Red Hat does (and they've done some cool stuff).
The same goes for WCS and Caldera and Yggrdasil and the rest. More power to
you... but for god sakes let's not start up this "Linux is Freeer than
FreeBSD" nonsense. It ain't true.
--
The Reverend Peter da Silva, ULC, COQO, BOFH.
Har du kramat din varg, idag? `-_-'