RMS is the kind of guy who is very easily misunderstood. He is also the kind of guy that tends to go a little overboard with things. In some cases, he mellows out with time, after an initial burst of accusations. In short, he's eccentric. And eccentricity and genius go hand-in-hand :)
Red Hat has always prided itself on how it licenses everything it makes for its distro under the GPL. Michael Tiemann is one of the the largest corporate GPL supporters, and I've always enjoyed his writings and speeches. One problem with Red Hat, however, is that it is the most popular distribution. This has made it behave in a somewhat proprietary manner, although within the scope of the GPL. For example, they are not a member of the LSB, since they are already a de-facto standard. Joining the LSB would jeapordise that position. Their move to gcc 2.96 has been very controversial. To see Red Hat's defence, see http://bero.org/gcc296.html. They made a similar move some years ago, when they switched from libc to glibc. This broke compatibility with other distributions, and it took about a year before things were back to normal again. However, in the case of libc/glibc, somebody had to make the move forward in order to progress. Red Hat, being the largest distro company and the de facto standard, took the initiative, and so have been blamed for deliberately making their distro incompatible with others. Without a standards body like the LSB, Red Hat was responsible for the community as a whole. Things should improve in the future, as distros sync with the LSB. On Thu, 1 Nov 2001 10:41:57 -0600 (CST), [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Hal Wigoda) wrote: > > I just saw Stallman speak last night > and he inferred that Red Hat is not GPL. > > > > > This is a multi-part message in MIME format... > > > > ------------=_1004623536-1734-4670 > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit > > > > On Thu, 1 Nov 2001 15:39:32 +1100 > > Sridhar Dhanapalan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > On Wed, 31 Oct 2001 13:40:39 -0500, Charles A Edwards > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I do not understand the hue&cry, especially from linux users, about the > > > > activation process of Windows XP, or the fact that it is tied to 1 > > > > system. > > > > > > > > This not an unheard of, or unused procedure. > > > > > > > > Red Hat has been using basicly the same in there treatment of > > > > installations since 7.1. > > > > > > Ummm... How? > > > > > > Red Hat is GPL. You can download it freely of the Internet. What's the > > > point in a product activation copy protection scheme then? > > > > > > -- > > > > > > Yes RH is GPL, so is SuSE but you can not dowload a fully functional ISO > > of it. > > > > Being GPL has nothing to do with the basics action that RH "leads" one to > > beleive you must take once you have have installed RH. > > > > Read the following from the RH site: > > > > > > > > > > "Get the most out of your Red Hat systems. > > Red Hat Network is an Internet solution for managing one or more Red Hat > > Linux systems. All Security Alerts, Bug Fix Alerts, and Enhancement > > Alerts (collectively known as Errata Alerts) can be retreived directly > > from Red Hat. You can even have updates automatically delivered > > directly to your system as soon as they are released. > > Because Red Hat Network keeps track of when Errata Updates are > > released and sends you email notifications, it can: > > Reduce the time and effort required by system administrators to stay > > on top of the Red Hat errata list > > Minimize security vulnerabilities in your network by providing the > > patches as soon as Red Hat releases them > > > > Filter out package updates not relevant to your network > > > > Schedule Errata Updates so that packages are delivered to selected > > systems when you want it > > To start using Red Hat Network today, follow these steps: > > Create a System Profile by registering your system with Red Hat > > Network. Just run the command rhn_register on the system. > > Log in to Red Hat Network and entitle the system > > to all the Software Manager benefits. > > Start scheduling updates. > > If you need help with these steps, refer to the Red Hat Network User > > Reference Guide. If you are a current Red Hat Network customer, please read > > The New RHN to learn what has changed and what > > features have been added." > > > > > > When you register and entitle your system, a profile for that system is > > created. > > If you wish to install on another or even change systems and still access > > the RHN you must first unentitle the original system and then register and > > entitle the second system. > > If you should wish to use the RHN on more then 1 system you must purchase > > additional subscribtions at $19.95 per month per machine. > > > > Sure, you can get around this by listing all updates applied to one system > > and then manually updating on any others that you might have. > > But how many users would even think of this much less do it. > > > > There is nothing wrong with RH doing this, linux distros if they are to stay > > viable must find means of generating revenue beyond that aquired through the > > sale of box sets of the OS. > > > > Is this exactly the same practice that is being used by MS with WP? > > No. > > But the basic priciple behind the approch both are taking is the same, 1 > > copy of the OS on one system. > > > > You may well have a differing view, that is why we each are individuals and > > each has the 'right' to hold and express their own views. > > > > But, as to me personally, I can equate no difference between MS's policies > > in regards to XP and those being currently employeed by RH. > > > > > > Charles -- Sridhar Dhanapalan "In a move unanimously hailed by the trade press and industry analysts as being a sure sign of incipient brain damage, Linus Torvalds (also known as the 'father of Linux' or, more commonly, as 'mush-for-brains') decided that enough is enough, and that things don't get better from having the same people test it over and over again. In short, 2.4.0 is out there." -- Linus Torvalds
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