Friday, February 20, 2009

The spirit of free software

While the followers of RMS are fighting with the evil using and defending their communist license it seems that they forget to respect the others:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/medibuntu/+bug/203214
  • Medibuntu shouldn't distribute software against their license. Inside the medibuntu repos you offer packages which violate most likely the distribution policy of these products.
Let's say what the first poster says:
  • To put in a nutshell, because that's the purpose of Medibuntu (like debian-multimedia for debian or plf for mandriva for example).
Should I comment this?

BTW Launchpad looks great. I am sure that I can download and install on my machine. Or... What???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Launchpad_(website)

Launchpad, the software founded by the father of the most popular open source system is not free software ?!?!? I am destroyed... But the boss will explain why:
  • Launchpad has been criticized by the Jem Report and other members of the free software community for not being available under a free license, such as the GNU GPL, despite its aims. The developers have stated that they aim to eventually release it under a free software license, but that it could potentially take years.
    Founder Mark Shuttleworth responded to this criticism that Launchpad needs paid-programmers to continue the development of the Launchpad platform and that there would be no point in developing multiple versions of Launchpad due to the probable incompatibility of the forks. However, this has still left some members of the open-source movement dissatisfied.
Paid-programmers? No forks? No source code? Where are the great benefits of being open source?

Nowhere, good software needs exactly this and not a bunch of loud fanboys.

Oh, oh, life is complicated.

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