The GPL Impedes Linux More Than It Helps?

Anonymous Coward writes "Linux ought to be even more successful than it is. On ZDNet, Paul Murphy ponders the reasons why. For one thing: The GPL impedes Linux more than it helps. Licensing issues, coupled with patent and copyright FUD, have caused developers and VCs to think twice before committing to Linux. Murphy also suspects that desktop Linux is stuck on stupid." From the post: "Basically, legal issues, or the threat of legal issues, caused some key applications developers to back off Linux while the general negativism of Linux marketing caused many of the individuals whose innovations should have been driving Linux adoption to hang fire until MacOS X and Solaris for x86 under the CDDL came along."

Comments

Re:True to an extent...

[WindBourne]

The modified Artistic license and modified BSD license are much more user friendly, and if Linux and most Linux software used those instead adoption would probably be greater.

Actually, BSD is already under these license and yet, they did not take off. Why is that? because they allow a company to hijack your work. Dec, SGI, IBM, HP, even Sun were willing to support Linux because it could not be taken away (yes, Sun no longer supports Linux, but that is because they are attempting to arrest the death of Solaris).