It may be my lack of a legal background so bear with me here, but I think that it's safe to assume that Red Hat and any Linux Company/reseller will be packaging their bundles with a "shrink wrap" type licence with a line included to the effect that "use at your own risk". It's the "little guy" developer putting out the small bits of software taht will be getting screwed. According to the proposed law, if Nvidia puts out a driver for my new Geforce with a license they're off the hook. If I write my own, post it and it has ONE bug in it, I'm slapped with a liability suit. I am thinking that Red Hat and other companies that rely on the individual for contributions will loose ALL of their support if this law passes. I hope they realize this.
The point that most seem to miss with this (and most other JonKatz articles) is that JonKatz isn't touting his opinions as "Law", but offering up his opinions (usually based on hard fact) as the foundation of a discussion. I don't recall Katz ever saying "I'm right, you're not". He always seems to be offering up topics with the intent of getting other people's perspectives. I may not agree with everything he writes, but I always appreciate the fact that I've challenged to think about something other than the black/white technical world most of us are imsersed in. On the other hand, I hang my head in shame everytime I read a response that says "You're wrong, so you're stupid!". As a member of the Geek Community, I wonder why someone who probably spent their younger years being mis-understood would subject another member of the same community to similar ridicule. If I read something I don't agree with, I find that a simple response containing my reasons for disagreement is a much more satisfing response than "Please Die".
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It may be my lack of a legal background so bear with me here, but I think that it's safe to assume that Red Hat and any Linux Company/reseller will be packaging their bundles with a "shrink wrap" type licence with a line included to the effect that "use at your own risk". It's the "little guy" developer putting out the small bits of software taht will be getting screwed. According to the proposed law, if Nvidia puts out a driver for my new Geforce with a license they're off the hook. If I write my own, post it and it has ONE bug in it, I'm slapped with a liability suit. I am thinking that Red Hat and other companies that rely on the individual for contributions will loose ALL of their support if this law passes. I hope they realize this.
The point that most seem to miss with this (and most other JonKatz articles) is that JonKatz isn't touting his opinions as "Law", but offering up his opinions (usually based on hard fact) as the foundation of a discussion. I don't recall Katz ever saying "I'm right, you're not". He always seems to be offering up topics with the intent of getting other people's perspectives. I may not agree with everything he writes, but I always appreciate the fact that I've challenged to think about something other than the black/white technical world most of us are imsersed in. On the other hand, I hang my head in shame everytime I read a response that says "You're wrong, so you're stupid!". As a member of the Geek Community, I wonder why someone who probably spent their younger years being mis-understood would subject another member of the same community to similar ridicule. If I read something I don't agree with, I find that a simple response containing my reasons for disagreement is a much more satisfing response than "Please Die".