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Novell May be Banned from Distributing Linux
Hymer writes "Reuters is reporting that Novell may be banned from selling Linux. In the wake of the (much maligned) Novell/Microsoft deal, the Free Software Foundation is reviewing Novell's right to sell the operating system at all. The foundation controls the rights to key parts of the operating system, and council for the organization said that 'the community wants to interfere any way it can' with the Novell business arrangement. No decision has yet been reached, but one should be made in the next two weeks." Is this a measured response, or an over-reaction to the Novell/Microsoft arrangement?
For sure. Actually, this is a good reason to avoid implementing "free" software in a commercial environment, no matter how good the quality is. You never know when the cranks and kooks are going to crawl out of the woodwork and create a disruption. Who needs that?
Progressivism: Parasites helping parasites to help themselves - to other people's stuff.
If the "community" or just the FSF decide to take away the ball, then Novell could forget its pledge as well. I don't like Novell, but this move by the FSF could backfire very badly with Linux in the Enterprise just as its beginning to reach critical mass. Linux needs large software companies to contribute code, patents and intellectual property to the Linux cause, and if Novell is attacked, then other software companies may reconsider their strategies.
Tubby or not tubby. Fat is the question
It's only the NEW GPL that applies. Novell is just fine under the OLD GPL.
Under COMMON LAW interpretation of the GPL, Microsoft KNOWS what it's getting into on this deal and really got FSCKED because they tacitly agreed to the terms of Novells CURRENT GPL terms. Without reading the contract, I'm SURE that Novell was smart enough to restrict the agreement to the current GPL. Either way, MS pays Novell $348 million. FOr those parts pof the world where common law applies....well MS gets ROYALLY EFFED because anything they pass to Novell passes to 'the community' under common law.
IMO this whole mess is a ruse to see how smart the FSF lawyers are... Intel for a later FSCKING!!! MS is liek the effing middle east. One day you're all blown up. Up in heaven you learn that 47 generations back you had an imbecilic cousin who fscked someones goat producing a chimeric offspring(hey it worked back then) and you were just suicide bomb owned by descendants of the goats family.
Do not look into LASER with remaining eye!
The GPL can't diminish rights held by the owner of the copyright.
It not only can, it does.
The whole point of Free Software is freedom - enforced by the GPL.
There's a contradiction contained in that statement. See if you can figure out what it is.
Perhaps there may be trademark issues, but restricting someone from doing what they want with GPL software would make Stallman quite the hypocrite.
It wouldn't make him one...it'd simply reveal in less than the usually controvertible terms just how much of one he really is.