Hello Hetz
On Sat, 24 Feb 2001, Hetz Ben Hamo wrote:
> > 1. I'm sure suse didn't create this driver by themselves. I believe that
> > what it uses is what I use for my hp720 - pnm2ppa. it's a driver made by
> > someone not related to suse, you can use it with any distro.
>
> Actually, HP and VA Linux are sponsoring people to write GPL drivers for
> their HP printers (deskjet and laserjet). They're releasing soon 44 drivers
> for those printers..
Actually, the person who made pnm2ppa, worked alone without any support
from HP. Very nice of them to agree to release these drivers, but it
already exists.
You know what I just thought of - HP could be sponsoring these drivers in
order to 'rule' the hp drivers for linux, while there are 'pirate' drivers
in the market right now, which work JUST GREAT. I'm sure they don't like
it.
> So you see again, Oren, money here HELPS to create open source drivers!
It didn't help. he created it on his own time without their money or
support, just support of other open source programmers.
> > 2. yast is good indeed. but it's not free and it has a stupid license as
> > far as I understood. I prefer a GPLed program.
>
> Bzzt! I definately don't agree with you. USE the right tool for doing the
> job! if you got many options, then take the one that you preffer, but
> disqualifying a product due to it's license? thats THEIR programs and their
> rights to even release it without a source code! yast is not useful other
> then in SuSE Linux. So you don't want to use it? fine, do it manually or use
> webmin or Linuxconf - but everyone has his full right to release a product
> under any license he want.
I heard from some people that the yast license is pretty 'sly' and some
bad things about it. I prefer GPL not because I want to see its source or
modify it (Although maybe it could be nice), but because I want to be free
to use it.
These rumors could be untrue a little, I didn't (and still don't) have
time to sit down, read and analyze the yast license. But I heard it from
different sources so it makes sense.
> Disqualifying a program that you need to use just because it's not GPL is not
> a smart move in my book - unless you want to redistribute the code or doing
> other things with it.
Sure. There are more nice licenses such as the BSD license.. But most of
the other licenses are not as free as GPL is, so I prefer using it. I
wasn't saying 'If it's not GPL - I don't use' (Lo itung - Lo kone). I said
that if the license isn't that free, I prefer to use programs under a
better license, while there are some programs like that which are also
very good.
About all that sponsoring stuff you wrote me here and in the letter before
- Tell me, how do RedHat and Mandrkae also sponsor so many projects, while
they release their distro to the market and to their ftps just about the
same time ? What I don't like with suse, that they act too much in a
commercial way, while their compatitors don't.
Besides, you talk like the whole open source community is sponsored by
these companies. I know very few open source projects which are sponsored.
Cya,
Oren.
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