[Wolves] anyone tried XTRA-PC - why charging for linux?

[Chris Ellis]

On Wed, May 4, 2022 at 6:00 PM Mark Croft Redditch Linux Mint
<mark.croft.lug at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Chris.. could it be some form off ssd usb device then maybe? I will chat tonight about it..

USB SSD would likely more be around the £50 - £100 price point and
only worth it if the host had a USB3 port.

Good quality USB flash drives, eg:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B077VYCV37/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 would be more than adequate for a usable system.

Chris

>
>
>
> On Mon, 25 Apr 2022, 22:19 Chris Ellis via Wolves, <wolves at mailman.lug.org.uk> wrote:
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 25, 2022 at 9:52 PM David Goodwin via Wolves
>> <wolves at mailman.lug.org.uk> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> > On 25/04/2022 20:43, Mark Croft Redditch Linux Mint via Wolves wrote:
>> > > hi
>> > >
>> > > friend pointed me too XTRA-PC usb that being sold for £35. seems a lot
>> > > for a specialised linux usb pen?
>> > > https://now.getxtra-pc.io/GSRCH/UK/x-38/?ci=14164451737&ai=125720080979&de=m&dm=&cr=537458919501&ts=g&kw=xtra-pc&ac=4825081799&gclid=CjwKCAjwjZmTBhB4EiwAynRmDyQ80KTRce5CtlCfHWFL8D1XA0sH_i12PPjPoJgHyqP9mJ0YgY6A-RoCIS0QAvD_BwE
>> > >
>> > > are they breaking any licences? i guess they maybe so closed source in
>> > > there that costing £35?
>> >
>> > My understanding is ...
>> >
>> > They can charge whatever they like for a USB stick with whatever variant
>> > of Linux on it. As could you.
>> >
>> > Whether anyone will buy it, is another matter.
>> >
>> > If you purchase it from them, they are required to provide the source
>> > code to you (thanks to the GPL). At which point you could create Mark's
>> > ExtraSpecialPCTurboPlusPlus .... and (assuming you don't fall foul of
>> > trademarks/copyright laws) you could then resell it at a lower cost than
>> > them or even make it available to others for free.
>>
>> Free / Open Source does not provide any constraints on how much you
>> may charge for your combined works.  Red Hat, Canonical, SUSE already
>> charge widely differently.  GPL is about enforcing freedom of
>> knowledge, not about cost.
>>
>> Technically they only have to provide a written offer to provide the
>> source code and build chain for any GPLed works upon request.
>>
>> It's unlikely that they would have to provide the source code to their
>> own works such as the configuration and boot scripts.  So you'd likely
>> just get a stock Debian (or similar) live stick.
>>
>> Also decent quality (ie: fast) USB sticks aren't so cheap.
>>
>> Chris
>>
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