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DrDOS Inc Breaking GPL

Posted by Hemos on from the bad-news-bears dept.

Bob Dobbs writes "DR-DOS 8.1 (DrDOS Inc) came out at the begining of this month, however instead of an upgrade to DR-DOS 8.0 the new product is based on work available on the internet. The work includes shareware utilities, a badly patched version of the kernel work by Udo Kuhnt, drivers (Samsung, ESS) and utilities from FreeDOS and others (e.g. pkzip). Full information on the FreeDOS site. (Cheers FreeDOS!)"

4 of 460 comments (clear)

  1. I remember... by guruevi · · Score: 1, Redundant

    DR-DOS being the best DOS around in the time of PC-DOS and MS-DOS with their EMM386 (I even changed the DOS in Windows 95 once to get faster games)

    --
    Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
  2. Hmmm.... by brilinux · · Score: 1, Redundant

    And wasn't DR DOS originally owned by Caldera...?

    Which turned into...SCO!

  3. Wow, flashback 15 years ago... by Kevin108 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    C:\>del config.sys C:\>copy con config.sys SHELL=C:\DRDOS\COMMAND.COM ^C C:\>Alt+Ctrl+Del

    --

    It's a perfect time for being wasted.
    A perfect time to watch the stars.
    - Burden Brothers, "Beautiful Night"
  4. Re: paying customers only by civilizedINTENSITY · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Actually, yes. If you distribute GPLed software in binary only form (rather you charge for it or not is immaterial), then you must make the source code that forms those binary images available to "any third party", which means the public at large, and you can only charge your distribution cost. Thus, if you were to decide to distribute binary only, then anybody can request from you the source code, when could then be put on a web site for the general public.

    In your description, what you are selling is the convienence of having compiled the software. You can charge for that, surely. GPLed software is Free, not free. But...if you don't give them the source code when you give them the binary, you have to give "any third party", i.e., everyone who as much as asks, the source code.