A New Model for Software Innovation

Posted by michael on Wednesday August 28, 2002 @06:52AM from the out-with-the-old dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In this whitepaper published at LinuxDevices.com, Matt Asay (former Linux naysayer-turned-disciple) analyzes the GPL, picking apart what it means (and does not mean) for users, and whether it is enforceable. Assay also details how its terms inhibit and foster innovation, and why we should care. In this next generation of software, those who understand 'copyleft' licenses like the GPL will have the upper-hand, and will be best positioned to take on closed-source shops like Microsoft. Assay wrote this paper while attending Stanford Law School, where he studied the the GNU General Public License under Professor Larry Lessig." A thoughtful piece that answers - as well as they can be answered - a lot of the questions about the GPL that we get for Ask Slashdot, as well as examining the economics of it. Good reading for anyone developing or selling software.

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WTF is a whitepaper? by Shooter6947 · 2002-08-28 08:43 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Dudes: can anybody tell me what the hell a whitepaper is? How can it be a whitepaper if its all electronic? How is a whitepaper different than a normal paper? This smells to me of Dilbert's boss doublespeak.