[SMAUG] Caldera Workstation 3.1

[Rick Moen]

begin  Raphael Dorado quotation:

> I don't think that I used the word commercial in such a way. 

Oh, you didn't.  I just thought I'd throw that in, since I was addressing
the definition of open-source.  _Even_ at many Linux user groups, I find
people talking about Debian vs. "commercial" Linux distributions -- and 
then arguing with me when I point out that they mean _proprietary_, not 
commercial.

So, that was not directed at you.

>> I don't think it is; I don't think it does.
> 
> My word against yours. You can not download their ISOs and install them
> and use them in your office. Le license terms are quite explicit.

Oh, sorry:  You're quite right about that -- _if_ you take that
"EULA.txt" licence at its word. 

What I was pointing out to Ronald is that that "licence" appears to be a
sham, because it is (1) ineptly written, and (2) completely fails to
identify the property over which it asserts Caldera's rights.  Also:
(3) the only likely candidate for such a property (a compilation
copyright) is problematic, as being in conflict with the GPL licensing
of many included third-party-owned components.

But, one of my overall points to Ronald was this:  Even though I don't
think his employer's "EULA" is valid and enforceable, I'm willing to
honour the _request_ it makes of me by not using the discs in business --
or anywhere else.  That's why I've removed those discs from my
InstallFest kit, and will probably throw them away -- and forget all
about Caldera.

Of course, I also suggested to Ronald that his employer can and should
fix its model to be like SuSE's, which would retain the essence of the
business model they're aiming for, while still not pissing off the Linux
community.

But apparently, he found my analysis so annoying that he immediate
unsubscribed.  Oh well.

My point to _you_ is that, if you consider proprietary software
objectionable, it's easy enough to just not use it.  You'll miss a few
good things like xv, and there are still software categories where there
are no good offerings -- or none at all (e.g., project-management
software).

> But can you still download the ISOs from the net and use them on as many
> machines as you want, in a business, can't you ?

You cannot (and may not) download the ISOs of the six-disc SuSE full
boxed version from the Net, no.  That's because it includes a number of
non-distributable proprietary packages.  It would be copyright violation
to do so.

However, you _can_ (and may) download from the Net (and use in business)
the one-disc "evaluation" version of SuSE.  It is a complete, full-scale
distribution, one that I recommend for many users.

SuSE uses its YaST and YaST2 setup utilities' proprietary status to
prohibit _selling_ discs made from those "evaluation" ISO images. 

>> I cannot endorse your view that there's something horribly
>> objectionable about (also) offering a proprietary superset.
> 
> "superset": Applications or Kernel proprietary components ?

You're opening up an entirely new kettle of fish.  On the
kernel-components issue, you might want to read the Linux Weekly News 
summary of what is allowed and what is not (and how that policy is
implemented in technical terms:  http://lwn.net/2001/0614/kernel.php3

But suffice it to say that, if you want a freely redistributable SuSE,
you can download, burn to disc, duplicate for your friends, and use
everywhere the single-disc "evaluation" image.  That image _does_
include redistributable proprietary software, such as pine/pico, xv,
and Netscape Communicator.  And of course YaST/YaST2.

If, on the other hand, you also want a boatload of additional software
(mostly proprietary, and mostly not redistributable), along with printed
documentation, paid telephone support, etc., you buy the SuSE boxed set
with six CD-ROMs.

And I don't see anything horribly objectionable about the existence of
either one.
 
-- 
Cheers,      "Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first 
Rick Moen     woman she meets, and then teams up with three complete strangers
rick@linuxmafia.com       to kill again."  -- Rick Polito's That TV Guy column,
              describing the movie _The Wizard of Oz_