On Fri, 26 Aug 2005, Kern Sibbald wrote:
Would you either restate this, or explain what you mean, because on
the face, this is patently false.
You have just made a flat statement without any detail, and I am a bit tired
of this subject, so I am not going to respond until I see some reasonable
argument that indicated my error. You have also cut out content leading to
this statement that is important to understand it.
Kern:
Using GPL does not mean all software is automatically GPL, that's the
mantra of the Halloween Document and is strictly FUD.
It's true that a lot of stuff being released as commercial software
contains GPL copyright violations(*), but most of these are accidental,
while there are a few quite deliberate ones, such as (lots and lots of)
ADSL firewall routers(**) which are embedded linux boxes using obfuscated
kernals and Busybox code, or GPS navigation systems which are embedded
linux systems.(***)
Even the cases above, what's happened is that the companies concerned have
been forced to release the sourcecode for modifications to GCC,
modifications to Linux and Linux device drivers, but thay have NOT been
forced to give up the proprietary software which is the real gem in their
crown.
If Bacula is GPL, then someone selling a proprietary system containing
Bacula must make the Bacula source available, including any modifications,
but they are not required to give over the source for their proprietary
software unless it is derived from GPL software, or incorporates full GPL
libraries - most common libraries are released under the LGPL, which
doesn't require source disclosure when used as Includes.
There is a pretty good set of FAQs on the subject at
www.gpl-violations.org/faq/index.html
(*) http://www.gpl-violations.org/
(**) Cisco (Linksys), Netgear, Dlink and others have all been caught doing
this, some companies even encrypted their linux images to hide the fact.
(***) Tomtom (www.tomtom.com)
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