I have to agree with you, ben. One of the things I remember hearing so much about when I first started using linux and GPL software was the fact that nothing in the GPL requires the free beer aspect that everyone wants now days. I've always understood, that the requirement was that if someone *bought* the software you had to supply them with the source whether it be w/ the binaries or on a website, but there had to be access to the GPL'ed code, somehow all of this seems to have gotten twisted from the free speech access to software requirement to a free beer access. Personally, I think it's great that suse doesn't put the iso's online, i won't use them if they did, I much prefer the dvd. I like the fact the I can sit down go through the install process selecting the packages i want, start the installion and walk away for about 45 minutes and not have to sit there and swap cds. I think the funny thing in all of this is that even debian discourages the iso's now, and wants you to buy the set of CD's or use the netinst program. Wow, crazy stuff here!! Imagine another distro not wanting all of their bandwidth chewed up with people dl'ing iso's which is a waste because a lot of the stuff on the iso won't get installed. Anyways, if someone isn't willing to buy 7.3 pro box because they feel it's too much of a risk they can have mine for the price of shipping, but I am keeping the dvd but that's it. All the manuals and the CD's are there, stickers and boot disks too. Hell, if anyone wants the 7.1 pro set they can have that too, dvd included. Just contact me off the list. Rick On Sunday 17 February 2002 10:04 pm, Ben Rosenberg wrote:
Ok. Sorry. Didn't mean to belittle anything. I guess we should just forget what IBM and others have done. I guess we should go back to 1997 and just be this little vocal fringe of usage that we were and it should all just be very hippie like. I guess the ban in my dept at work should go back into effect. I guess ISV's and other software makers should go back to being scared because there was no backing of Linux. I guess we shouldn't make the strides in the kernel, KDE and other such things that having paid coders like SuSE, RH, Mandrake and IBM provide. I guess we should go back to snails pace development. I guess I'm just off my rocker..and shouldn't want us to beat Microsoft and Sun into the ground.
This is the last I will say on this subject. The world has changed.
I want the best for Linux and I hope..hope that the "I want a free ride crowd" goes away. My train ride shall be on the "fair price for a good product" train. I got off the "overpriced ..we're going to bend you over" train a long time ago when I stopped using Microsoft software. I am not opposed to paying for a product and I think the biggest wrong idea that has ever been put forth is that Linux is free as in beer and if it's not it will not succeed. Freedom of speech is 10X different then free beer.
This is not directed at Haralambos..but is just mainly a general thought. They original email which prompted the writings below was not ment to be directed his way..I should have taken better care as to make that clear. I attack no one...I attack misconceptions and wrong ideas.
I am all for freedom of speech, but as I will tell anyone..there is no free lunch ..only free STD's ;)
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