In <4cd3921a.5090...@optonline.net>, Doug wrote: >On 11/04/2010 10:50 PM, ZephyrQ wrote: >> If you could not/did not use Debian (either Lenny, Squeeze, or Sid), >> which other distribution would you use and why? > >One thing I >really _don't_ like about Debian is its fear of the copyright. I really >want >Thunderbird and Firefox, with their familiar icons, on my screen, not the >goofy clones that Debian has come up with.
It's not a "fear". It's a reality. The Mozilla Foundation contacted Debian Developers and asked them to come into compliance on the trademark usage allowances that Mozilla provides. Debian's choices were: 1. Seek approval from the Mozilla Foundation for *all* patches. 2. Stop using the trademark. Choosing #1 basically results in firefox / thunderbird never getting into stable. Because the lifetime of a Debian release is longer that Mozilla is willing to support a version of firefox / thunderbird and Debian requires the ability to apply security updates for the lifetime of a release. Choosing #2 results in firefox / thunderbind being rebranded iceweasel / iceowl. They use the same source code as firefox / thunderbird, but they are configured with the an alternate branding. They may also have a few patches applied to them that may or may not be approved by Mozilla; you can check the debian/patches directory in the source package to see what is patched. Debian did not make the decision lightly or unilaterally. There is a third choice, I guess: Ship firefox / thunderbird in non-free. Support for non-free is best-effort, which basically means that if upstream is willing to fix it then the security team / maintainers will package it. This basically results in Debian stable's non-free containing software with known security vulnerabilities that Mozilla is unwilling to fix. -- Boyd Stephen Smith Jr. ,= ,-_-. =. b...@iguanasuicide.net ((_/)o o(\_)) ICQ: 514984 YM/AIM: DaTwinkDaddy `-'(. .)`-' http://iguanasuicide.net/ \_/
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