

Free software is dead. Long live open source - edw519
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10361785-16.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

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makecheck
I actually don't think that free software has been mired by rigid views. It's
simply been a terminology war from the beginning, that the FSF has generally
lost: every time they coin a term, its meaning is completely confused by
something else.

Just look at the hijackings. How many people really know that most of the
components of what's called Linux have actually been destined for an OS called
GNU, which has a different kernel (HURD)? How many people think free software
refers to $0.00? And most important of all, how many people must still think
that free and open-source are the same thing?

Free software has earned the undeserved reputation of being incompatible with
businesses, when the reality is that it doesn't prevent anyone from selling
anything. I suppose, like any gesture of trust, no one wants to be first:
which business will "risk" opening up all its code for competitors to
essentially learn from without reciprocating? The reality is different: not
only would the business be able to tap into thousands of GPL'd projects
without having to write its own code, but it would be able to benefit from
code reviews, fixes, and new contributions. If any competitors _did_ steal the
code, the GPL requires the competitor to open everything up in return. These
restrictions are really not that unreasonable for _software_ companies, who
you'd think would want to produce high-quality software for the lowest
possible cost.

