-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Alejandro Forero Cuervo wrote:
Is SUSE Linux open source or is it not? I know that it includes some less than open source software but so do most other distros. You just answered your question: it includes some proprietary packages (such as Opera, Real Player, Text Maker, Plan Maker, Acrobat Reader) hence it isn't open source. The same could be said about those "other distros" that you claim also include proprietary software. That said, I think it would be very easy to create an open source version of SuSE Linux, removing all proprietary components (which, AFAICT, are all optional).
More confusion around... Please use the mailing-list archive to read previous mails of this thread, I think it has been answered extensively, especially by Christoph Thiel, Peter Flodin and Andreas Jaeger: http://lists.opensuse.org/archive/opensuse/2005-Sep/0588.html http://lists.opensuse.org/archive/opensuse/2005-Sep/0594.html http://lists.opensuse.org/archive/opensuse/2005-Sep/0653.html http://lists.opensuse.org/archive/opensuse/2005-Sep/0591.html There already _is_ an opensource version of SUSE Linux: that's the one you downloaded the ISOs on the internet, it's the "SUSE Linux OSS" distribution. It does _not_ include proprietary packages like Opera, Realplayer, ... The "other" distribution is "SUSE Linux", sold as a boxed set (soon for 10.0, has been announced recently). It's actually the same as "SUSE Linux OSS" + some proprietary packages like Realplayer and Java. Note that for the "SUSE Linux OSS" distribution, you can still install Java and similar stuff, but you have to download the packages from the Internet, separately, as they are not included in the ISOs. Actually, just add the "inst-source" and "inst-source-java" directories on HTTP or FTP mirrors (they're at the same place you downloaded the ISOs from) as installation source in YaST2 and then you have access to them. Although it may sound like a few of us are splitting hairs, please please please be careful with the terms that you use. There are 3 different things: - - openSUSE: it's _not_ the distribution, it's the community effort, the wiki, etc... - - SUSE Linux OSS: the SUSE Linux version you can download on the internet, that only includes OpenSource software - - SUSE Linux: the retail version that you can buy as a boxed set, that's SUSE Linux OSS + some non-opensource packages included (Java, Realplayer, Acrobat, ...) cheers - -- -o) Pascal Bleser http://linux01.gwdg.de/~pbleser/ /\\ <pascal.bleser@skynet.be> <guru@unixtech.be> _\_v The more things change, the more they stay insane. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.0 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFDJRzHr3NMWliFcXcRAlqDAJ9Gcw5i+45jR9dshB93TTvFuhUxmQCgro7j cnKQLlvUjcm9nXQZaJfzRkg= =gnew -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----