Messages in this thread | | | From | (H. Peter Anvin) | Subject | Re: Solaris 2.6 and Linux | Date | 27 Sep 1997 18:32:31 GMT |
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Followup to: <342D4AD9.538ED019@quiotix.com> By author: "Jeffrey B. Siegal" <jbs@quiotix.com> In newsgroup: linux.dev.kernel > > FSF-style Free Software (Linux included) carries an unacceptable cost > for most embedded systems: the need to distribute source. No one wants > to distribute source code for the embedded control system for every > device they manufacture and distribute (think microwave ovens, cars, > elevators, VCRs, etc.). > > Its not that its a secret, its just that its a pain in the ass. > > I discussed making an exception for this case with RMS several years > ago, and although he didn't object to it philosophically, no one was > willing to invest the necessary effort to properly draft the appropriate > language for the GPL. >
Note that they don't have to distribute source per se: they only have to offer to do so within three years, and are allowed to charge for it.
-hpa
-- PGP: 2047/2A960705 BA 03 D3 2C 14 A8 A8 BD 1E DF FE 69 EE 35 BD 74 See http://www.zytor.com/~hpa/ for web page and full PGP public key I am Bahá'í -- ask me about it or see http://www.bahai.org/ "To love another person is to see the face of God." -- Les Misérables
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