On 10/8/05, Jim Lux <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The cool thing about Linux and the whole software movement it has spawned > is that it actually gives you the chance to have virtually free development > software that is also high quality. The same cannot be said of hardware, > because software is unique in that the recurring cost for making another > copy is essentialy zero.
You fail to see the point. GNU, Linux and Free Software movement is not about provide free as in gratis software. We already have N number of them out there. Free Software movement is most relevant to Amateur Radio because of the Freedom it gives for virtually every one to read the code (self-learning part of your amateur radio license), modify the code (experiment part of your amateur radio license), and also help your friends by redistributing your modified copy and thus making the World a better place. The fact that it was free as in price was a consequence rather than an aim. Now, providing Free Software which requires access to non-free tools sort of prohibits experimentation. One can modify the code but one needs someone with access to non-free code to compile and test it. -- 73 - Ramakrishnan, VU3RDD
