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CBC News Interprets GPL - Poorly
frankShook writes "The Canadian news service CBC has up an article entitled 'Linux distributors scorn Microsoft partnership'. Primarily, it looks to describe the ongoing licensing saga between Microsoft and Linux distributors. It also includes a highly unique interpretation of the GPL: 'Open-source software such as Linux, on the other hand, encourages individuals to add to or modify software without fear of legal repercussions, so long as they abide by the conditions of the general public license, which stipulates that the program must remain open and sharable.'"
GPL'd software comes with so many contractual terms that they bind the users into a knot of inability to make use of the software beyond any reason. No matter how you turn you're required to do this or that. That's not freedom, that's communism or legalise gone wild.
GPL'd software thus isn't free.
True free software is public domain which has zero restrictions.
When there are restrictions there isn't freedom; as more restrictions are added the greater the bondage. GPLv3 tightens the knot and stops the circulation, eliminating any sense in using GPL'd software.
As for "open", well, while you can look at the source code it's got so many legal restrictions upon the license it isn't open by any definitions except those that are Orwellian.
True open software is something like OpenBSD or FreeBSD or NetBSD or Apache.
Linux is caged by the GPL and is just as useless as Microsoft or any other commercial software.
Live free or die hard.
See George W. Bush
The CBC (which, as we Canucks know, stands for Communism By Canadians) is notorious for slanting stories and poor news reporting in general.