> I wish they wouldn't call Plucker "freeware"; it's free software.
More specifically, "Free Software".
I've been dealing with these, and similar issues lately, with the
recent discovery of 4 commercial companies using pilot-link directly in
their commercial "non-free" products.
There is this mentality that "GPL Software" or "Free Software" or
"Open Source Software" is equivalent to "freeware" or "shareware", and
that couldn't be farther from the truth. Calling something "free software"
is a very short jump to "freeware" in the eyes of most of the general
public, who doesn't understand all this "licensing confusion".
The trend I'm seeing (and I may write an article for the media or
a position paper on this, if I get more research done on it) is that
companies are using Free Software to save themselves money, increasing
profits, by using the hard work of others, but never contribute back
(*cough* Bluefish), and then end up laying off people by the dozens,
because they are no longer needed ("We found some free software on the web
that does what we're paying you to write, so we don't need you anymore.
You're fired."). The net result it that the economy rises, because
companies are blatently breaking the law, violating copyright, and firing
people, all to save their profits, and deliver "stolen" software to
market.
Apparently this isn't being made vocal enough to reach the
"public" media (i.e. not NewsForge or Slashdot or Groklaw), so a few
choicely-worded letters to larger newspapers (Wall Street Journal, New
York Times, CNN) would probably raise some interest in doing a study on
it.
Anyway, back off of that tangent. I prefer to refer to Plucker as
"Free Software", while "free software" has a very different connotation to
me. YMMV of course.
d.
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