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SuSE Denies UnitedLinux Per-Seat License Model
m0RpHeus writes "According to Linux Today, SuSE is denying per seat licensing for United Linux. `We really don't plan any per-seat licensing for UnitedLinux,' said SuSE's US Director of Sales Holger Dyroff. UnitedLinux, it seems is divided on this issue."
UnitedLinux is the base distro. Suse, Caldera, etc. are going to be *basing* their distro on that. They are not going to release a UnitedLinux distro. They will release a distro, "Powered by UnitedLinux. Each company can decide their licensing terms themselves.
If Caldera wants to put some extra propritary software in their distro and use per seat licensing, then they are free to do that. Suse has just said that they will not be doing that.
UnitedLinux is IMHO a good thing! They are using and selling free software - they aren't breaking any licenses or anything like that. They are *the good guys* trying to earn a bit of money to stay in business. Is that such a bad thing?
Judging from what the United Linux partners have said, there wouldn't be any restriction on SuSE saying this. As far as I understand, SuSE, Caldera and the rest will sell distros which are "powered" by United Linux. The idea being, presumably, that software updates/packages for one UL-based distro will be compatible with all UL-based distros. However, the companies will all have independent contents, pricing, marketing etc. Therefore, SuSE is just saying what their pricing approach will be. What SuSE chooses to say about selling their UL-powered distro is no business of the other partners.
Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
Four Linux companies that haven't done anything in a long time (Caldera, TurboLinux? Are they kidding??)
.99 drivers, SuSE 8 also has an extremely customized version of YaST2 which is amazing. (I couldn't care less that it's not free). Also, Caldera & TurboLinux both have a very loyal userbase in their respective locales.
SuSE hasn't done anything in a long time??! Nonsense. On top of being the first distro with KDE3 and Alsa
re ganging up to try to take on RedHat
If you read the original press release, you'd see that the companies involved in United Linux extended an offer to Redhat (as well as any other distro that is interested) to join the effort. This is not a direct assault on Redhat, it's an effort to get a standard, easily supportable distribution.
but the fact remains that they're still four dying companies
SuSE is dying?? Really? You might want to tell that to IBM and the German Government.
In my opinion, UnitedLinux is an effort to focus on the LSB, to make an easily-supportable version of Linux that works the same regardless of the localized vendor you pick. If they do it right, I think it will definitely be a Good Thing (TM).
SuSE wrote the (first? only?) USB kernel drivers.
SuSE contributes heavily to ALSA.
SuSE wrote many XFree86 servers for some of the less popular cards from S3 and trident.
SuSE creates integrated E-mail server, collaboration, and database products that are more than just some slapped-together GPL code with an installer.
You talk about innovative? Free ride my ass. Do a little research.
Where has anyone acually involved in the UnitedLinux project actually said that there will be a per-seat license?!? All I've seen is a somewhat vague statement in the UnitedLinux FAQ which could be interpreted as allowing for the possibility that there might be a few UnitedLinux distros using a somewhat non-standard license. Somebody mentioned it on /. wondering what they meant by it, and the Chicken Littles around here latched on to it a cried that the sky is falling. RMS heard the screams and, without bothering to check if the sky was actually comming down, issued forth his opinion on the matter. Apparantly the /. editors haven't bothered to look up either, since they keep posting stories about this totally unsubstantiated rumor!
The fact that not a single one of these stories or opinions has been able to find a quote which substantiates this rumor is quite telling.
Sure, Ransom Love is an idiot, but come on people! He already got smacked down for per-seat licensing once, is he really dumb enough to try it again? Are the rest of UnitedLinux dumb enough to go along with such a stupid idea after seeing what happened to Caldera? I very much doubt that. Obviously SuSE isn't, and I'd be very surprised if Connectiva or TurboLinux where even giving the idea consideration.
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.