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theKompany's Shawn Gordon On The GPL

Posted by Hemos on from the license-flame-on dept.

replicant_deckard writes "In this short but insightful essay Shawn Gordon, the founder of theKompany, explains why GPL doesn't work for software companies producing graphical and end-user friendly stuff. This reminds us that GPL has so far been useful just for infrastructure-level hacker stuff like operating systems, databases etc. " Of course, it's been used for end user - OpenOffice, GAIM, and other projects.

4 of 350 comments (clear)

  1. wonderful /. by MegaFur · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Gotta love that slashdot quality.

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    Furry cows moo and decompress.
  2. Let's clear this ALL up right NOW... by wrinkledshirt · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    There's only one possible explanation between the continued jabbing back and forth between the KDE and GNOME camps.

    Two words.

    "Sexual tension".

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    Bleah! Heh heh heh... BLEAH BLEAH!!! Ha ha ha ha...

    1. Re:Let's clear this ALL up right NOW... by Dr.Dubious+DDQ · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Thanks for that. Now I'll be having nightmares about tiny green scaley children wearing pointy red hats, lurking around unsuspecting people's gardens...

      What's your mailing address, so I can send you my therapy bills? :-)

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      Hacker Public Radio is our Friend
  3. Re:So Why Use It by istartedi · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    The people who choose the GPL for their software do so because they don't care about making money but they don't want anyone else to make money

    Almost. You just need to add from software sales on the end.

    GPL'd software makes plenty of money for distributors, consultants, and businesses that run servers.

    A lot of people fail to make the distinction. What if there were a strong GPL community for music? Then musicians would allow the RIAA to distribute without ever signing them, and they wouldn't allow other musicians to cover their tunes under contract.

    I get a real kick out of people who whine about the RIAA's contracts, but think IBM using Linux is great for programmers.

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    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?