Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id ; Mon, 6 Jan 2003 00:09:35 -0500 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id ; Mon, 6 Jan 2003 00:09:35 -0500 Received: from mark.mielke.cc ([216.209.85.42]:3859 "EHLO mark.mielke.cc") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id ; Mon, 6 Jan 2003 00:09:33 -0500 Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 00:26:31 -0500 From: Mark Mielke To: Ian Molton Cc: graham@barnowl.demon.co.uk, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: Why is Nvidia given GPL'd code to use in closed source drivers? Message-ID: <20030106052631.GA2728@mark.mielke.cc> References: <20030105223753.GC31840@mark.mielke.cc> <20030106014322.7b924543.spyro@f2s.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20030106014322.7b924543.spyro@f2s.com> User-Agent: Mutt/1.4i Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 2844 Lines: 57 On Mon, Jan 06, 2003 at 01:43:22AM +0000, Ian Molton wrote: > On Sun, 5 Jan 2003 17:37:53 -0500 Mark Mielke wrote: > > Then one day - everybody upgrades to a new version of Linux. My > > support lines start ringing off the hook. > To which the answer is 'we dont support linux 9.8.4 yet, sorry.' The question of responsibility remains unanswered. If the software causes unreasonable damage to the user's computer, who can be sued? A closed source product with an expensive price tag provides this level of responsibility to customers. (at least in theory) In my opinion, the chosen model should be based on economic feasibility, not on religious persuasion. If open source truly is the better model for a candidate product, the model will be used. Whether this takes the form of the original product becoming open sourced, or a competing open source product developed, the result is the same. If you want to convince a company to change their model to be of the open sourced variety, you will need logic such as the above to convince them. mark P.S. I do realize that many people have experienced better 'support' from open source communities, than from companies. I consider this an amazing blessing that should not be taken for granted. The voluntary contributions that make this possible need to be respected as *beyond* what one should expect, and the volunteers themselves need to be respected as champions of the open source community. Anything less is taking these contributions and contributors for granted as a free resource available to be exploited. For example, if Red Hat were to claim that you should purchase the Red Hat distribution of Linux/GNU, because the open source community that produces most of the products contained within the distribution will provide better support than other commercially available *nix systems, Red Hat would be obtaining profit from the voluntary contributions of other people. This is not strictly right. (I don't know if Red Hat has ever done this... Just a scenario...) -- mark@mielke.cc/markm@ncf.ca/markm@nortelnetworks.com __________________________ . . _ ._ . . .__ . . ._. .__ . . . .__ | Neighbourhood Coder |\/| |_| |_| |/ |_ |\/| | |_ | |/ |_ | | | | | | \ | \ |__ . | | .|. |__ |__ | \ |__ | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them... http://mark.mielke.cc/ - To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/