On Sun, 2002-08-18 at 09:22, Mortimir wrote: > I am uncertain of the difference between the "Official CD" and "non-US" > versions of Debian. It sounds to me like the "non-US" version contains some > sort of encryption software (perhaps like the PGP I use in Windows) that > cannot be exported out of the United States. However, the name, "non-US," > makes it sound as though this version is for use in countries other than the > United States, which would contradict my previous understanding.
You are correct, the non-US part contains packages with crypto and can therefore not be exported FROM the US. It's legal to use in and outside of the US, but you should get it from a non-US located server (non-us.debian.org is in leiden, the netherlands). Crypto has largely been incorperated into the main tree these day's, so it's becoming a non-issue for crypto. There may also be some patent-encumbered software in the non-us/non-free trees, here you have to be careful since some of this software can not be used legally in some countries (where said patents are valid) without owning a patent license. (mp3/gif/jpeg, etc) -- Mark Janssen -- maniac(at)maniac.nl -- GnuPG Key Id: 357D2178 Unix / Linux, Open-Source and Internet Consultant @ SyConOS IT Maniac.nl Unix-God.Net|Org MarkJanssen.org|nl SyConOS.com|nl
