Re: Google modules integration

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

Thomas Lord writes:

 > They would rather leverage their raw data to attack
 > software freedom as pertains to maps (much as they
 > attack software freedom as pertains to search).

I see no (necessary) attack on *software* freedom here.  They're
simply keeping the *data* secret.

"Simple" of course does not mean "good".  It just means that there is
nothing runnable here for the user to study, modify, or redistribute.
Google could quite possibly freely distribute all the software used,
and still maintain a profitable monopoly over the data.  (More likely,
they do have substantial proprietary software involved in the
databases and image generation -- but OTOH they probably want
everything in the Maps API to be free software.)

That's why I think it is a mistake to distinguish between software and
other information (as the Free Documentation License does, for
example).