FreeBSD 5.0, GPL vs BSD license (was) Re: [Sussex] From Ball To L inux.

[Geoff Teale]

Neil wrote:
-----------
> I did stick a smiley on my post.

Yup.. Didn't mean to make that sound like an attack, I actually just wanted
to hear your point of view - I was triggered by the inclusion of the GPL.. I
can understand the personal preference for FreeBSD as an OS, but I wondered
why the GPL was something you specifically didn't like.

> It wasn't meant as a serious comment. I personally have 
> issues with the 
> GPL or more accurate Stallman and his position on software licencing.

I think a lot of people think RMS is too radical, this is the root of the
Open Source / Free Software divide.

> I prefer FreeBSD for servers due to it's consistancy and it's 
> stability. Again that's a personal thing.

I'm actually inclined to agree with you, especially since FreeBSD now has
decent support for SMP - it can regain it's reputation as a high-load server
platform.

> I don't think either Linux or FreeBSD are ready for the business 
> desktop, but then that is because a lot of the people I work 
> with have 
> bespoke applications written for Windows or Mac OS that the 
> developers 
> aren't going to port to X windows in a month of Sundays. It's 
> a fact of 
> life I'm afraid and something that isn't going to change anytime soon.

A also agree that this is a weakness.  If you have an investment in internal
development or buy products like Act then your first question is how do I
get this to run on LINUX/BSD..etc..?  Running something like VMware is not
an option - in most cases this would defeat the point of the excercise -
indeed any licensing costs you have to add in to convert make the whole
operation less viable.  However there is a realisation of this problem in
the community and work is being done to get things in place.  It's an
interesting point and I'm keen to see how things develop.

> These are of course all my personal views and aren't likely to be 
> popular around here.

I don't think of this as a popularity contest, I'm keen to hear other
peoples opinion (much as it may seem like I'm mouthing off), I genuinely
want to hear someone address what I see as FreeBSD's weakness (it's license)
- I don't approve of the idea that all of that hard work is open for big
companies to reap and make profit on without passing on the same
opportunities.

-- 
geoff.teale at claybrook.co.uk
tealeg at member.fsf.org

"and the mighty multinationals
have monopolized the oxygen
so it's as easy as breathing
for us all to participate"
- Ani DiFranco "Your next bold move"



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