Doug Lerner wrote: >What do people think about free vs commercial software in general? I >myself don't object to commercial software. In fact, I work for a company >that makes very high-quality commercial software with a great, loyal >customer base. > >Surely there is nothing wrong with paying to have software supported and >updated? > >doug > > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Wednesday, December 26, 2001): > >>MAndrakesoft is committed to free software. All the Mandrake Tools are >>licensed under the GNU GEneral Public License and source is available. >>
Well, commercial software for a specific purpose is OK. We are attempting to prove that alternative business models that do not restrict technical information _are_ viable. The linux distros that follow heavily commercial models are SuSE with a proprietary installer, Caldera with per-seat licensing, and to a much smaller extent, RedHat. Debian is pretty much GPL, as is Connectiva, and I have no idea about Slackware, As for my own feeling. I could be working for more money somewhere else as a developer or system administrator. I am with Mandrakesoft instead because .... I think technical information belongs to the human race as a whole. There is too much potential for a corporation to keep something secret, or to buy out developments and restrict them because current technology hasn't been milked dry yet. I personally know of an engine with two moving parts, no pollution, constant torque from 0 to 10000rpm, and 40 km/l kerosene and virtually no pollution. It was bought by a major manufactutrer and promptly disappeared. There are disease cures that are unprofitable to produce and so are squelched, as well. Somewhere, technically savvy people needed to take a stand and show that profit motive is not necessarily related to progress... That people also work for love of the art and an inner sense of accomplishment. As to the actions of Microsoft and its predatory practices, I find them the worst example of what is motivated by profit, something obscene and reprehensible. Civileme >> >> >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >
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