Nice try
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| Void_Main Jul 14, 2004 9:55 AM EDT |
I know their intentions were good and I would have agreed entirely if they would have expanded one or two of their statements. The following statement is false and misleading (not to mention a spelling error): OSIA says since open source is free, users can instal software in whatever manner and in whatever volume they desire. Users of open source software are therefore far less likely to infringe on copyright or licensing terms. First of all do they mean "free" as in no cost or do they mean "Free" as in source code freedom? No matter which one they mean not all "open source" software falls under either category. There are several open source licenses. Not all of them ensure the software is free of cost (in fact very few, if any, ensure this) and only a few ensure that the software source code is free. That is the GPL ensures that anyone who receives software in binary form must also be able to easily obtain the source code for that binary software from the same source, and those rights must be transferred along from party to party. Almost all open source licenses have requirements that must be followed. For instance the source must be available for any binary licensed under the GPL so you still have to comply with the requirements of the license. In most cases you can get the software for free (as in no cost) but this is not always true. Microsoft has a "Shared Source" license which is neither free (as in cost) or Free (as in you can pass the source around to anyone you wish) but I would consider it "Open Source". I'll take "Free Software" any day of the week. The quote would almost be accurate if we were talking about "public domain" software but very little software today that would be considered "open source" is in the public domain. Most of it is copyrighted and has been placed under a license that has terms that must be followed. This message was edited Jul 14, 2004 2:25 PM |
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