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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.wildstar.net!serv.hinet.net!news.uoregon.edu!arclight.uoregon.edu!nntp.primenet.com!news.iquest.net!not-for-mail From: "John S. Dyson" <dyson@freebsd.org> Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc Subject: Re: Linux vs BSD Date: Thu, 06 Feb 1997 18:26:33 -0500 Organization: John S. Dyson's home machine Lines: 47 Message-ID: <32FA68A9.167EB0E7@freebsd.org> References: <32DFFEAB.7704@usa.net> <32F54717.41C67EA6@freebsd.org> <5Pp9y0gTzz1B091yn@ibm.net> <5d81k0$8j4@cynic.portal.ca> <E575K5.4yq@bigbird.telly.org> NNTP-Posting-Host: dyson.iquest.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01 (X11; I; FreeBSD 3.0-CURRENT i386) Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.misc:156228 comp.unix.bsd.misc:2251 Evan Leibovitch wrote: > > In article <5d81k0$8j4@cynic.portal.ca>, > Curt Sampson <cjs@cynic.portal.ca> wrote: > > >All the GNU licence does is prevent a certain type > >of commercial exploitation, which is at best neutral, and at worst > >a handicap. > > Handicap to whom? > The developers who apply the technologies in Linux, piece by piece or as a whole, incorporated into finished product. This is a problem when Linux has to be substantially modified to work for that application. It is very likely that the IP will be encumbered under the GPL. That is a HUGE negative for Linux, sorry... On the desktop, FreeBSD can run most Linux applications, and in fact is pretty much a bug-for-bug emulation. Linux is not generally overly encumbered for 3rd party developers, however the LGPL *could* make their lives a little more difficult due to the need to dynamically link (you know, the library of the month problem), or to offer link packages (which isn't a real problem, just yet another problem.) As far as 3rd party product, Linux's license terms aren't any worse (or much, if any better) than NT or SCO. > > If FreeBSD is less handicapped than Linux in terms of commercial > explotation potential, someone forgot to tell the exploiters. > FreeBSD has more exploitation potential, but Linux is being used more on the desktop. Frankly, we are vastly better accepted and trusted in our market than Linux is... (BTW, I sure hope that the exploiters are supplying link kits or don't have problems with the library-of-the-month problem.) (BTW, most all of those commercial exploits of Linux, are also potential exploits of FreeBSD -- isn't it cool!!!) I buy software meant for Linux and use it -- and it runs great!!! Kind of (Win 3.1 is to Win NT) is like (Linux is to FreeBSD). John