On Sat, 13 Apr 2002 15:09:56 -0700 (PDT) Robert Barry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Grabed a keyboard and said:
> I'm not an expert, but doesn't Mandrake only have to > provide the source for all the modifications Mandrake > did. Can Mandrake NOT provide the ISOs for free? And > does Mandrake need to provide the source for all the > other applications, etc that they bundle up in the > Mandrake distrio. The source for these programs can > be found elsewhere. > > Can somebody please explain this to me? Actually SuSe already does this. You can't download a SuSe iso anywhere that is SuSe supported (Someone may create their own and pay for the bandwidth but SuSe doesn't) The Truth is you only have to suppy the source code "With the binary" So if you only sell the software only your customers would be allowed the source. So for sale only software can still be Open Source. This does beg the question of one thing. Can a License be Open Source if you cannot give away copies. IE I can sell you what I have but not give you a clone. This is akin to the problem RH had with CheapBytes, or the fact that you can't build your own car from the ground up and sell it as a Chevy, even if it's identical. GPL is about ownership not marxism. James > > What does Mandrake need to provide to comply with the > GPL? > > Thanks, > Robert > > > --- KevinO <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > sda wrote: > > > RS has no problem with this at all, free > > > as in speech, not necessarily free as in beer. The > > heart of > > > GNU/Linux is still free as in beer, however the > > ease of use necessarily > > > isn't or shouldn't be IMHO. > > > > > But RMS's license states that once I buy, download, > > whatever some GPL'd code, > > I am now > > free to give away this software however I please. > > Mandrake could run people > > off of their ftp servers if they wish, but they > > can't keep the latest versions > > out of the hands of the non-payers, unless they > > start writing code from > > scratch. This code would have to be totally > > non-derived from anything GPL'd > > and this would allow an alternative license. This of > > course would be seen as > > most unfriendly.... > > > > The situation is a little more complicated than > > this, but this is it in a > > nutshell. > > > > > > -- > > Kevin O'Connor > > > > "People will be free to devote themselves to > > activities that are fun ... > > > > The GNU Manifesto - Copyright (C) 1985, 1993 Free > > Software Foundation, Inc. > > > > > > > Want to buy your Pack or Services from > MandrakeSoft? > > > > Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com > > > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax > http://taxes.yahoo.com/ > >
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