On Thursday 10 November 2005 10:29, Steven T. Hatton wrote:
I am the OP, and I specifically said "Novell execs", and use the word "understanding" not commitment. I have not been following the OpenSuSE development, so I am not sure that YaST was GPLed, but Novell execs GPLing YaST does not demonstrate an understanding on their part of what the free in free software means.
The "original post" is still not supported by anything concrete. SFAIK YaST is indeed GPLed, and it's difficult to know what "execs" (whoever *they* may be) know or don't know about free software, other than that the money markets want them to go faster rather than slower along this road. It is true that Novell has a poor trackrecord in acquisitions of this nature, but I think that creating FUD about the company's prospects is of no help to anyone, least of all us SUSE-users.
What I didn't mention in this posting from several years ago was the part about how I was watching Novell get their lunch eaten by Microsoft. That was really the motivation for my starting the thread. http://lists.kde.org/?l=kde&m=90349986314191&w=2
This is interesting, but of dubious value. The landscape has changed significantly since 1998, and while it is impossible to predict how things may go in the future, I think most people would agree that FLOSS is a much larger factor in the equation than it was then. I hope Novell will be able to capitalise on that, but even if it does not, it does not spell the end of FLOSS. This is going OT now, so email me offlist if you wish to continue to discuss. -- Pob hwyl / Best wishes Kevin Donnelly www.kyfieithu.co.uk - Meddalwedd Rhydd yn Gymraeg www.cymrux.org.uk - Linux Cymraeg ar un CD