[Ilugc] We Don't Need the GPL Anymore
- From: akumar@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kumar Appaiah)
- Date: Sat Jul 2 06:40:34 2005
On Fri, Jul 01, 2005 at 07:57:18AM -0400, Binand Sethumadhavan wrote:
That's not from me. Read more about it at:
http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2005/06/30/esr_interview.html
"We don't need the GPL anymore. It's based on the belief that open
source software is weak and needs to be protected. Open source would
be succeeding faster if the GPL didn't make lots of people nervous
about adopting it."
Binand
I have a question. People here would agree that the advent of Linux
has revolutionized the whole computer industry, including the server
and supercomputer fields.
Now, Linux and *BSD started at around the same time. Why isn't it that
FreeBSD isn't as famous or popular as Linux his?
Now, I hear you say that popularity of *BSD and the license are
different. Well, if you are not going to gauge the usefulness of a
free software license with its flagship product, what would be its
yardstick?
If you say "FreeBSD deployment isn't low because of the license, it's
because of other problems like ..." it is precisely these problems
that led to NetBSD and, sunsequuently, OpenBSD. However, none of the
BSD's are as popular.
I am not a hacker, but I sure feel that the reason Linux emerged as
the most successful among these is because the GPL model ensured the
fast development of the kernel.
And, on the part "the belief that open source software is weak and
needs to be protected", I'd say any software is weak, and it's upto
the author to decide what protection is needed. The BSD license gives
little protection, and people who use it need not return anything. But
the protection provided by the GPL ensures that everyone is
benefitted. This isn't, in my view, too high a price for free
software.
Finally, ESR talks as though the GPL is the very reason why the
corporate has not accepted free software (or open-source). So, does it
mean that *BSD's have been embraced by the corporate world with open
arms and Linux is losing heavily because of the GPL? I don't think so.
Afterthought: I did have a lot of respect for ESR, but gradually, I
seem to be losing it, with good reason.
Kumar
--
Kumar Appaiah
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