[Glastonbury] meeting (fwd) RANT = WARNING = long reply :)

[Andrew M.A. Cater]

Steve,

You need to be very careful what you write for/say to the press.
They may misunderstand it: they may potentially misrepresent it.

The <nitpick> tag was just that - but it is important to be consistent
in your style and as correct as you can be on your facts.

This is especially important today when various forces are spreading
FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) about the viability of "Linux"
and the future of the "Linux operating system."

You may want to look carefully and critically at the web sites for 
some of the more established distributions that have had to answer
these questions time and time again.

Initial facts are important: Linus was using Minix (free at that time
for academic use but not freely modifiable: source was available for
academic study) as a hobbyist.  He was set a Computer Science assignment
to write a task alternator (printing alternate strings of A and B, for
example).  He realised that this was essentially the same as the task
scheduler that lies at the heart of the UNIX kernel and took things from
there, incorporating some of the fixes that he wished had been in Minix
as he went.  This also led to the infamous flame fest between Linus and
Andrew Tannenbaum which is archived at various places on the 'Net.  
Ironically, Minix is now fully free precisely because it was relicensed
following the success of GNU/Linux.

GNU/Linux - as Martin suggested, read RMS on this. "Linux" is 
potentially OK as a verbal shorthand - but be prepared to explain the 
elision if called on to explain "what's all this Linux then?"

"Free" means either "free as in cost (free as in free beer)" or
"free as in freedom of speech/expression".
  
There's ample scope for confusion in English. French can use the 
useful distinction between libre/gratuit  

There is also the Open Source movement.  Windows NT/2000/98 are 
all open source, as is Solaris - if you pay Microsoft enough/are 
in an appropriate environment at an approved university or are 
prepared to accept Sun's restrictive licences the above statement
is perfectly true.  

Free software was the term first used - Eric Raymond and others 
felt it easier to sell the term Open Source to business people.  
They took the Debian Free Software Guidelines, modified them 
slightly and made the Open Source Definition.  At least one of 
the original main instigators (Bruce Perens) now regrets this
decision.  As part of a rapprochement of views, RMS has suggested
Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) as an appropriate acronym
and this has been used in official documents by, for example, the
US Department of Defence.

The guidelines given below have been widely used as a reference
as to whether software is "free enough". Some people take a 
pragmatic view of some areas e.g. binary only kernel drivers.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Debian Free Software Guidelines

  1. Free Redistribution

     The license of a Debian component may not restrict any party from
     selling or giving away the software as a component of an aggregate
     software distribution containing programs from several different
     sources. The license may not require a royalty or other fee for such
     sale.

  2. Source Code

     The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in
     source code as well as compiled form.

  3. Derived Works

     The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow
     them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the
     original software.

  4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code

     The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified
     form _only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with
     the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time.
     The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from
     modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a
     different name or version number from the original software. (This is a
     compromise. The Debian group encourages all authors to not restrict any
     files, source or binary, from being modified.)

  5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups

     The license must not discriminate against any person or group of
     persons.

  6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor

     The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in
     a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict the
     program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic
     research.

  7. Distribution of License

     The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the
     program is redistributed without the need for execution of an
     additional license by those parties.

  8. License Must Not Be Specific to Debian

     The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's
     being part of a Debian system. If the program is extracted from Debian
     and used or distributed without Debian but otherwise within the terms
     of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is
     redistributed should have the same rights as those that are granted in
     conjunction with the Debian system.

  9. License Must Not Contaminate Other Software

     The license must not place restrictions on other software that is
     distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license
     must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium
     must be free software.

 10. Example Licenses

     The "GPL", "BSD", and "Artistic" licenses are examples of licenses that
     we consider "free".

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

It may be noted that all GNU/Linux distributions are not necessarily
equal.  SuSE don't like you copying their proprietary code in YAST
and will not provide .iso images for download (although you can
install the entire distribution via FTP).  Red Hat prefer that
you do not redistribute their software - the EULA suggests that
all Red Hat trademarks should be removed and the software renamed.
(Hence the proliferation of Green Beret / Pink Tie / Threadz and
so on.)  Don't give unlimited quantities of Red Hat/SuSE to your
school kids.  Maybe give them Knoppix - it will run from CD
and needn't interfere with the operating system on the hard disk
of the host computer.  Do make sure that you get permission for
them to run it at home - you don't want irate parents to come
hammering on your door and blaming you for viruses/porn/little
Johnny / Jennifer's computer blowing up.  Linux is a perfectly
appropriate tool for cracking just as a credit card can conceivably
be used for forcing open a Yale lock - but this is not and never
has been its primary purpose and this should be emphasised.

On Wed, Jul 02, 2003 at 07:13:20AM +0100, Sean Miller wrote:
> Right, now... let's discuss something a little different, but on the 
> same theme.
> 
> What is the list's opinion on Crossover Office?!? For those that do not 
> know, it is a product that retails at $55 or thereabouts which allows 
> you to install Micro$oft products on Linux (eg. Micro$oft Word, Access, 
> Powerpoint etc. etc. )

Well engineered, may do as a stop gap measure.
<stuff snipped>
> Now, the merits of migrating to Staroffice at St. D's... well, I think 
> one thing that should not be forgotten in our evangelising about Linux 
> (which I have always pronounced "lee-nooks", as that is what all the 
> people I deal with in business appear to do) is that Steve is trying to 
> educate people to go out into the world and find jobs and 
> (unfortunately) at this point in time business is asking for skills in 
> proprietary Micro$oft products still... I see adverts in the gazette, 
> and "Computer Weekly", saying "experience with Microsoft word essential" 
> or the like... would teaching the children something else help them when 
> they have to go into the world?? I would suggest not... but with 
> something like Crossover it may be possible to bring the educational 
> spend down, introduce children to an alternative (better) operating 
> system but still provide them with the experience in the tools that 
> potential employers are like to - for a while at least - be expecting 
> them to be familiar with.
> 
> Discuss.

Very good point, well made.  If you are teaching the European Computer
Driving Licence or CLAIT or some such, you will be expected to 
demonstrate efficient use of Microsoft products.  I'm not sure as
to the National Curriculum guidelines.

It's worth remembering that Linux is not a universal panacea nor
suited for everyone, however we may feel.  I feel happy giving
a Linux box to my daughter for a while - she hasn't become
fixed on one operating system yet and will try anything.  I'd feel
similarly about my mother, who is barely computer literate but
keen to learn.  My father is an ex-headmaster and HMI - he too
is only really literate on the applications he knows and uses
but is unwilling to change.  I wouldn't change him to Linux
until his MS software becomes unsupported.  

Linux and access to free software may invigorate businesses - 
but I've seen the face of an experienced Solaris admin who was 
told bluntly "Don't even think of moving to Solaris 2.9 - at the 
pace at which you are moving, by that time we will have moved on to
Linux on Intel as the corporate desktop"  Try selling Linux
to him :( On the other hand, I have corporate software developers
queuing up to use my Linux box at work - because it is bang up to
date and more bleeding edge.  Horses for courses.

Sell GNU/Linux on: stability, relative immunity to viruses, capable 
of running on lower spec hardware than the later Microsoft operating 
systems, range of specialist applications (SGML / programming languages
etc.), relative security when appropriately set up. LAMP, GIMP,
OpenOffice.org

Don't sell it as "it's free" because all support costs _something_ 
even if only goodwill.  Be careful to emphasise that the
copying is permitted by the copyright and licensing terms of the 
software.  Don't treat it as rocket science - with application, anyone
can run a Linux box. [ _Real_ rocket science uses pencil, paper and 
slide rule anyway - my grandfather was a NASA scientist :) ]

Be prepared to troubleshoot hardware, especially older hardware. The
corollary is that you should be prepared to run the very latest versions
of everything and hand patch if necessary to support the very latest 
hardware.

> Sean

And finally - don't take life too seriously, you'll never come out
of it alive :)

"I mean to live forever or die in the attempt" (Giovanni Guareschi,
creator of the Don Camillo books.)

HTH,

Andy