Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

SkyOS GUI Contest

Posted by timothy on from the make-it-pretty dept.

SillyClown writes "Just saw this on OSNews.com. SkyOS (an alternative OS) is having a contest to replace their user interface. There are 30 or so designs, and the polls are open for voting. Check it out, help shape the future of SkyOS!"

3 of 42 comments (clear)

  1. what? SkyOS?? by Dreadlord · · Score: 5, Informative

    for those of you who have no idea what SkyOS is(and I'm sure there are many), check out this page.
    What I find the most interesting about it is that OpenGL and SDL are both ported, along with many of other GPL'd projects like MySQL.

    --
    The IT section color scheme sucks.
  2. Re:Is SkyOS free software? by shane_rimmer · · Score: 5, Informative

    I found the following version of their EULA in the SkyOS forums. It's dated 8-27-2003, so it's fairly current, though not quite as current as the 9-5-2003 google cache the parent linked appears to be. I don't know if this is official or not, but it bears a strong resemblance to the parent's link. I post it here for your reading enjoyment. I'd like to point out that there are no clauses that stipulate acceptance of the EULA, nor anything prohibiting me from posting it (this is a general discussion)

    SkyOs 4.0.0 EULA By Andrew Youll (Youlle Owner Of deNUX)

    SkyOs is a registered Trademark Of SkyOs Inc. and as such anyone who wishes to use the Name SkyOs, must apply for usage, the only way this can be ignored is if it is for a editorial, review or in general discussion, but any person / company is forbidden to impersonate SkyOs or SkyOs Inc in any way shape or form, impersonating SkyOs or SkyOs Inc will result in court action.

    SkyOs is a product of SkyOs Inc. and is such only SkyOs Inc. has the right to the source code, this means that by continuing to use SkyOs or continuing with the installation of SkyOs you agree to the following; you will not de-compile SkyOs to gain access to the source code, you will not disassemble, and if you do come across SkyOs source code by continuing you agree not to re-compile SkyOs and claim it as your own, as this is in breach of the agreement above.

    SkyOs is not Open source, and as such you are not entitled to view the source code and you can not demand to see the source code as SkyOs is a Closed Source Os produced by SkyOs Inc. the only time you are allowed to view or use the source code is if SkyOs Inc. gives you explicit Permission to do so.

    SkyOs is a i386 or x86 Os, this means it is designed to be run on IBM-Pc Compatible systems, based on Intel Compatible CPU's if this Os is found on any other platform such as PPC, M68k, C64, etc please contact SkyOs Inc. immediately as this may be illegal port of the Os, this does not affect your statutory rights.

    If Linux Code / Applications are used in SkyOs you can not claim that this makes SkyOs open sourced the only code you have the right to view is the Linux code / other open source code included in SkyOs. If you agree to this EULA and claim that SkyOs is open source because of the Linux code / open source code you will be liable for slander against SkyOs Inc.

    SkyOs Inc. reserves the right to place charges on SkyOs Inc. services, it also reserves the right to change the system requirements at anytime with out prior warning this also goes for features and app support, also the exclusion of applications in further releases is at the soul discretion of SkyOs Inc. and its contributors.

    SkyOs includes ported software that is GPL'd this means that it is open source, these binaries/drivers/libraries are widely available on the internet, and as such you should not harass SkyOs Inc. or any contributor for the Source code of these ported apps, also these GPL'd binaries/drivers/libraries do not in anyway affect the SkyOs Kernel or SkyGI and as such you have no right as a user, developer or other party to demand to view the Source Code of SkyOs.

    SkyGI is a registered trademark of SkyOs Inc. and should be held in context to the same usage as SkyOs mentioned in the above. SkyGI is a Closed Source system, and as such you have no rights under the law to view any of its code, SkyGI uses designs / widgets / graphics from contributors or from SkyOs Inc. it's self and you do not have the right to use these graphics / widgets / designs with out SkyOs Inc.'s expressed permission. Failure to request permission may result in legal action on the behalf of SkyOs Inc.

    SkyFS is a part of SkyOs and as such is property of SkyOs Inc. SkyFS support maybe dropped in future releases of SkyOs but the File System is still the property of SkyOs Inc. and as such any one wishing to incorporate it into their own Os must ask SkyOs Inc. first and must give credit to SkyOs Inc. for development and creation of the FS.

  3. The FSF takes GNU GPL violations seriously. by jbn-o · · Score: 4, Interesting

    From the parent poster's quote of the older SkyOs so-called End User License Agreement ("EULA"):

    SkyOs includes ported software that is GPL'd this means that it is open source, these binaries/drivers/libraries are widely available on the internet, and as such you should not harass SkyOs Inc. or any contributor for the Source code of these ported apps, also these GPL'd binaries/drivers/libraries do not in anyway affect the SkyOs Kernel or SkyGI and as such you have no right as a user, developer or other party to demand to view the Source Code of SkyOs.

    The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL) does not allow anyone distributing the covered software to withhold the complete corresponding source code of the program or to point somewhere else and essentially say "get it from them, not us". Perhaps Andrew Youll should spend some time reading the GNU GPL FAQ, if the license's text isn't sufficiently clear. Distributing binaries alone is insufficient for compliance with the GNU GPL. It doesn't matter if SkyOs comes with only a port of the applications or changes the software's feature set.

    Youll's EULA demonstrates Youll is trying to place more restrictive terms on GPL-covered software than the GPL allows. His EULA suggests he is quite unclear on what the GNU GPL's terms are and how to work within them. But overall, it's sad that someone who draws value from the GNU project's contribution to their own work is being dealt with in such a manner. Leveraging one's rights is never "harass[ment]". The GNU GPL does not aim to make SkyOs free software (although SkyOs would do their users a favor by making the entire operating system free). Proprietors have successfully used and distributed GCC as their main compiler for years.

    --
    Digital Citizen