Mandrake Blocked By XFree86 4.4 License

Linzer writes "A mailing-list message posted by Mandrake Linux's main developer on the Cooker mailing-list states that the development version of the distro is about to revert from XFree86 4.4 to the 4.3 version because of XFree86's recent license change. Mandrake contributors have started asking for justifications from MdkSoft. Many point out features of XF86 4.4 [an 'an open source X11-based desktop infrastructure'] they can't live without, including support for some not so uncommon hardware. A later Cooker mailing-list post extends a bit on the reasons."

Comments

OT: IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM DEAN. IT'S GO TIME!!

[Anonymous Coward]

*_d_e_a_n_s_e_x_*_d_e_a_n_s_e_x_*_d_e_a_n_s_e_x_*_
d_______________________________________________d_ _
e_/_____\_____________\____________/____\_______e_ _
a|_______|_____________\__________|______|______a_ _
n|_______`._____________|_________|_______:_____n_ _
s`________|_____________|________\|_______|_____s_ _
e_\_______|_/_______/__\\\___--___\\_______:____e_ _
x__\______\/____--~~__________~--__|_\_____|____x_ _
*___\______\_-~____________________~-_\____|____*_ _
d____\______\_________.--------.______\|___|____d_ _
e______\_____\______//_________(_(__>__\___|____e_ _
a_______\___.__C____)_________(_(____>__|__/____a_ _
n_______/\_|___C_____)/YAARRR\_(_____>__|_/_____n_ _
s______/_/\|___C_____)RRRRRRR|__(___>___/__\____s_ _
e_____|___(____C_____)\RRRGGH/__//__/_/_____\___e_ _
x_____|____\__|_____\\_________//_(__/_______|__x_ _
*____|_\____\____)___`----___--'_____________|__*_ _
d____|__\______________\_______/____________/_|_d_ _
e___|______________/____|_____|__\____________|_e_ _
a___|_____________|____/_______\__\___________|_a_ _
n___|__________/_/____|_________|__\___________|n_ _
s___|_________/_/______\__/\___/____|__________|s_ _
e__|_________/_/________|____|_______|_________|e_ _
x__|__________|_________|____|_______|_________|x_ _
*_d_e_a_n_s_e_x_*_d_e_a_n_s_e_x_*_d_e_a_n_s_e_x_*_

Impotent Stuff: Please try to to avoid looking like a complete buffoon and ignoramous to the entire country you jackass. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) If you want replies to your comments sent to you, consider logging in or creating an account.

Impotent Stuff: Please try to keep campaign on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) If you want replies to your comments sent to you, consider logging in or creating an account.

Impotent Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) If you want replies to your comments sent to you, consider logging in or creating an account.

Re:please

[Anonymous Coward]

u r n penis fish

Re:Good for them

[Anonymous Coward]

And all this because you have to credit their work. RMS must be rolling over in his grave at this injustice. You mean they're not willing to be good little communists and give up their hard work for the good of society unless they get a one-liner in the end product's documentation acknowledging that their work was used? The horror! Won't someone please think of the children!

"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the GNU party?" -McCarthy

Re:Simple solution.

[Anonymous Coward]

OMG LOL WTF!!~~~ if yuo import teh windowes sauce code teh linux colonel is gonne haev bluscreenz!!!1111 omg rotfl it is so funney!!!!

Re:Not to spell doom...

[BlueBat]

Heh, you should check out the United States of America. The champions of bad spellers live here. Bad spelling is the favorite national sport of the country. I am not kidding about this either. Whenever I try to read something that someone wrote, if they aren't a professional writer, it's like reading a foreign language. I can usually puzzle it out but MY GOD, is english their native language or what? BlueBat P.S. - I am a citizen of the United States of America so I have as much a right to my opinion as you do yours.

Re:So in other words....

[Namaseit]

Either your a troll or your retarded.

Re:The X Windows Trap

[Anonymous Coward]

So basically the theory goes like this:

1. Adopt a completely free licensed product which has no restrictions on how it gets used (eg: BSD license)
2. Work on and improve this product.
3. See that the work put into it has been adapted into third-party commercial applications, and that those third parties are contributing back even though they don't have to.
4. Arbitrarily decide that the free license doesn't have enough end-use restrictions, and change the license to a more restrictive version (GPL) which imposes control on how the product is used, despite this control being lambasted in the GNU Manifesto (RMS said: "Control over the use of one's ideas really constitutes control over other people's lives; and it is usually used to make their lives more difficult.")
5. Shaft everybody else by changing the rules of the game halfway through and exploiting their contributions to further your social software agenda.

Of course, Richard M. Stalin would have everybody praising the virtues of giving everything away and working for the pure social contribution of it all. Read the manifesto... it's a roadmap for software communism.

Re:Perhaps I'm Missing Something...

[Chris_Jefferson]

Note: This doesn't stop you making GPLed applications which use X.

Also, note that if XFree86 were GPL-compatable then placing any piece of GPLed code into it would force the whole program to be GPLed.. I'm not clear on why the XFree people should relicence their app to be GPL compatable, just so someone can make a derivate that is GPLed. Remember. GPL =\= free software.

Re:Not to spell doom...

[Anonymous Coward]

> Well now, this is strange, I've never had my formatting disappear this badly in my message before.

I think you fell victim to Slashdot's new moron filter. Boy is this place gonna dry up fast.

Re:OpenBSD not accepting License change either

[Anonymous Coward]

and people wonder why *BSD Is Dying..

Irregardless?

[Anonymous Coward]

Learn proper english, dipshit.

Aother reason to switch to OS X

[Anonymous Coward]

Surprise! Yet another licensing fiasco strikes at the heart of the pathetic linux movement. The truly truly surprising thing is that anyone with half a brain still uses Linux at all. OS X has ZERO licensing problems, ZERO murky legal issues (cough... SCO... cough), thousands of mainstream commerical applications, a GUI that Jesus Christ himself would use, and can run all three of the actually useful open source apps that exist. But I guess I shouldn't be too hard on you guys, after all while the Linsux community stabs each other in the eyes over what license to use for what line of code, we OS X users will continue simply get work done.

*yawn*

[t0ny]

Oh wow, another linux holy war. how exciting. wake me when its over.

Re:While we're at it, is Fresco dead?

[soulhuntre]

In other words, Open Souce software can only really make progress in most cases when corporations sponsor it.

What happened to the idea that millions of highly talented programmers woudl "mad skillz" would flock in and make it all happen out of the goodness of their heart?

A, wait... it's reality causing the problem.

(p.s. yeah, yeah... mod me down cause it pisses you off I am right)

Re:And what would be the Problem?

[Rogerborg]

>Anyone have an explanation?

The long explanation is, well, long and boring. The simple explanation is that GPL advocates are sexually frustrated social retards who carry around a knife at all times just in case they get the chance to cut off their nose to spite their face.

In this case, they refuse to add "This product includes software developed by The XFree86 Project, Inc (http://www.xfree86.org/) and its contributors" to the end user documentation. That's it. That's the whole story. Make your own judgement about whether my "simple explanation" is hyperbole.