[Top][All Lists]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
www/philosophy/sco sco-gnu-linux.html
|
From: |
Yavor Doganov |
|
Subject: |
www/philosophy/sco sco-gnu-linux.html |
|
Date: |
Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:00:53 +0000 |
CVSROOT: /web/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Yavor Doganov <yavor> 08/07/28 14:00:53
Modified files:
philosophy/sco : sco-gnu-linux.html
Log message:
Template and add link to the Spanish translation.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.13&r2=1.14
Patches:
Index: sco-gnu-linux.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.html,v
retrieving revision 1.13
retrieving revision 1.14
diff -u -b -r1.13 -r1.14
--- sco-gnu-linux.html 16 Sep 2007 14:47:46 -0000 1.13
+++ sco-gnu-linux.html 28 Jul 2008 14:00:24 -0000 1.14
@@ -1,51 +1,27 @@
-<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
-<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
- "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd";>
-<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"; xml:lang="en">
-
-<head>
+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
<title>SCO, GNU and Linux - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation
(FSF)</title>
-<meta http-equiv="content-type" content='text/html; charset=utf-8' />
-<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/gnu.css" />
-<link rev="made" href="mailto:address@hidden"; />
-</head>
-
-<!-- This document is in XML, and xhtml 1.0 -->
-<!-- Please make sure to properly nest your tags -->
-<!-- and ensure that your final document validates -->
-<!-- consistent with W3C xhtml 1.0 and CSS standards -->
-<!-- See validator.w3.org -->
-
-<body>
-
-<p><a href="#translations">Translations</a> of this page</p>
-
-<h3>SCO, GNU and Linux</h3>
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+<h2>SCO, GNU and Linux</h2>
<p>
by <a href="http://www.stallman.org/";><strong>Richard Stallman</strong></a>
</p>
<p>
-<a href="/graphics/philosophicalgnu.html">
-<img src="/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg"
- alt=" [image of a Philosophical Gnu] "
- width="160" height="200" /></a>
-</p>
-
-<p>
<i>This article was first published on ZDNet.</i>
</p>
<p>
SCO's contract dispute with IBM has been accompanied by a smear
campaign against the whole GNU/Linux system. But SCO made an obvious
-mistake when it erroneously quoted me as saying that "Linux is a copy
-of Unix." Many readers immediately smelled a rat--not only because I
-did not say that, and not only because the person who said it was
-talking about published ideas (which are uncopyrightable) rather than
-code, but because they know I would never compare Linux with Unix.
+mistake when it erroneously quoted me as saying that “Linux is a
+copy of Unix.” Many readers immediately smelled a rat—not
+only because I did not say that, and not only because the person who
+said it was talking about published ideas (which are uncopyrightable)
+rather than code, but because they know I would never compare Linux
+with Unix.
</p>
+
<p>
Unix is a complete operating system, but Linux is just part of one.
SCO is using the popular confusion between Linux and the GNU/Linux
@@ -54,6 +30,7 @@
part of the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other
programs you run. That part is Linux.
</p>
+
<p>
We developed GNU starting in 1984 as a campaign for freedom, whose aim was
to eliminate non-free software from our lives. GNU is free software,
@@ -62,6 +39,7 @@
and publish modified versions. (See <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.html">an
overview of the GNU project</a>.)
</p>
+
<p>
In 1991, GNU was mostly finished, lacking only a kernel. In 1992, Linus
Torvalds made his kernel, Linux, free software. Others combined GNU and
@@ -72,65 +50,76 @@
GNU Hurd (our kernel), and the NetBSD kernel. It is basically the same
system whichever kernel you use.
</p>
+
<p>
Those who combined Linux with GNU didn't recognize that's what they
-were doing, and they spoke of the combination as "Linux". The
-confusion spread; many users and journalists call the whole system
-"Linux". Since they also properly call the kernel "Linux", the result
-is even more confusion: when a statement says "Linux", you can only
-guess what software it refers to. SCO's irresponsible statements are
-shot through with ambiguous references to "Linux". It is impossible
-to attribute any coherent meaning to them overall, but they appear to
+were doing, and they spoke of the combination as “Linux”.
+The confusion spread; many users and journalists call the whole system
+“Linux”. Since they also properly call the kernel
+“Linux”, the result is even more confusion: when a
+statement says “Linux”, you can only guess what software
+it refers to. SCO's irresponsible statements are shot through with
+ambiguous references to “Linux”. It is impossible to
+attribute any coherent meaning to them overall, but they appear to
accuse the entire GNU/Linux system of being copied from Unix.
</p>
+
<p>
-The name GNU stands for "GNU's Not Unix". The whole point of
-developing the GNU system is that it is not Unix. Unix is and always
-was non-free software, meaning that it denies its users the freedom to
-cooperate and to control their computers. To use computers in freedom
-as a community, we needed a free software operating system. We did
-not have the money to buy and liberate an existing system, but we did
-have the skill to write a new one. Writing GNU was a monumental job.
-We did it for our freedom, and your freedom.
+The name GNU stands for “GNU's Not Unix”. The whole point
+of developing the GNU system is that it is not Unix. Unix is and
+always was non-free software, meaning that it denies its users the
+freedom to cooperate and to control their computers. To use computers
+in freedom as a community, we needed a free software operating system.
+We did not have the money to buy and liberate an existing system, but
+we did have the skill to write a new one. Writing GNU was a
+monumental job. We did it for our freedom, and your freedom.
</p>
+
<p>
To copy Unix source code would not be ethically wrong
-(<a href="#footnote" name="footref">*</a>), but it is illegal; our work
-would fail to give users lawful freedom to cooperate if it were not
-done lawfully. To make sure we would not copy Unix source code or
-write anything similar, we told GNU contributors not even to look at
-Unix source code while developing code for GNU. We also suggested
-design approaches that differ from typical Unix design approaches, to
-ensure our code would not resemble Unix code. We did our best to
-avoid ever copying Unix code, despite our basic premise that to
-prohibit copying of software is morally wrong.
-</p>
-<p>
-Another SCO tool of obfuscation is the term "intellectual property". This
-fashionable but foolish term carries an evident bias: that the right way to
-treat works, ideas, and names is as a kind of property. Less evident is
-the harm it does by inciting simplistic thinking: it lumps together diverse
-laws--copyright law, patent law, trademark law and others--which really
-have little in common. This leads people to suppose those laws are one
-single issue, the "intellectual property issue", and think about
-"it"--which means, to think at such a broad abstract level that the
-specific social issues raised by these various laws are not even visible.
-Any opinion "about intellectual property" is thus bound to be foolish.
+(<a href="#footnote">[1]</a>), but it is illegal; our work would fail
+to give users lawful freedom to cooperate if it were not done
+lawfully. To make sure we would not copy Unix source code or write
+anything similar, we told GNU contributors not even to look at Unix
+source code while developing code for GNU. We also suggested design
+approaches that differ from typical Unix design approaches, to ensure
+our code would not resemble Unix code. We did our best to avoid ever
+copying Unix code, despite our basic premise that to prohibit copying
+of software is morally wrong.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Another SCO tool of obfuscation is the term “intellectual
+property”. This fashionable but foolish term carries an evident
+bias: that the right way to treat works, ideas, and names is as a kind
+of property. Less evident is the harm it does by inciting simplistic
+thinking: it lumps together diverse laws—copyright law, patent
+law, trademark law and others—which really have little in
+common. This leads people to suppose those laws are one single issue,
+the “intellectual property issue”, and think about
+“it”—which means, to think at such a broad abstract
+level that the specific social issues raised by these various laws are
+not even visible. Any opinion “about intellectual
+property” is thus bound to be foolish.
(See <a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html">our list of words to
avoid</a> for more explanation of the confusion caused by this term.)
</p>
+
<p>
In the hands of a propagandist for increased copyright or patent
powers, the term is a way to prevent clear thinking. In the hands of
-someone making threats, the term is a tool for obfuscation: "We claim
-we can sue you over something, but we won't say what it is."
+someone making threats, the term is a tool for obfuscation: “We
+claim we can sue you over something, but we won't say what it
+is.”
</p>
+
<p>
In an actual lawsuit, such ambiguity would make their case fail, or
even prevent it from getting off the ground. If, however, SCO's aim
is to shake the tree and see if any money falls down, or simply to
spread fear, they may regard vagueness and mystery as advantageous.
</p>
+
<p>
I cannot prognosticate about the SCO vs IBM lawsuit itself: I don't
know what was in their contract, I don't know what IBM did, and I am
@@ -139,6 +128,7 @@
the code that they distributed under the GNU GPL and other free
software licenses in their version of GNU/Linux.
</p>
+
<p>
However, I can address the broader issue of such situations. In a
community of over half a million developers, we can hardly expect that
@@ -153,58 +143,32 @@
community cannot be defeated by this.
</p>
+<h4>Footnotes</h4>
+
<hr />
-<p>
-<a name="footnote" href="#footref">*</a> Since this statement directly
contradicts the
+<ol>
+<li id="#footref">Since this statement directly contradicts the
establishment views of the proprietary software developers, some
-readers suppose that the word "not" was inserted by mistake. It is
-entirely intentional. It is not wrong to copy software. It is wrong
-to stop others from copying software. Thus, software should be free.
-</p>
+readers suppose that the word “not” was inserted by
+mistake. It is entirely intentional. It is not wrong to copy
+software. It is wrong to stop others from copying software. Thus,
+software should be free.</li>
+</ol>
-<hr />
<h4><a href="/philosophy/sco/sco.html">Other Texts to Read related
to SCO</a>.</h4>
-<hr />
-<div class="translations">
-<p><a id="translations"></a>
-<b>Translations of this page</b>:<br />
-<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical, and in the original -->
-<!-- language if possible, otherwise default to English -->
-<!-- If you do not have it English, please comment what the -->
-<!-- English is. If you add a new language here, please -->
-<!-- advise address@hidden and add it to -->
-<!-- - in /home/www/bin/nightly-vars either TAGSLANG or WEBLANG -->
-<!-- - in /home/www/html/server/standards/README.translations.html -->
-<!-- one of the lists under the section "Translations Underway" -->
-<!-- - if there is a translation team, you also have to add an alias -->
-<!-- to mail.gnu.org:/com/mailer/aliases -->
-<!-- Please also check you have the 2 letter language code right versus -->
-<!-- http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/ert/iso639.htm -->
-[
- <a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.de.html">Deutsch</a> <!-- German -->
-| <a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.html">English</a>
-| <a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.fr.html">Français</a> <!--
French -->
-| <a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.it.html">Italiano</a> <!-- Italian -->
-| <a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.nl.html">Nederlands</a> <!--
Dutch -->
-| <a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.pl.html">Polski</a> <!-- Polish -->
-]
-</p>
</div>
-
-<div class="copyright">
-<p>
-Return to the <a href="/home.html">GNU Project home page</a>.
-</p>
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
<p>
Please send FSF & GNU inquiries to
<a href="mailto:address@hidden";><em>address@hidden</em></a>.
-There are also <a href="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to contact</a>
+There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
the FSF.
<br />
-Please send broken links and other corrections (or suggestions) to
+Please send broken links and other corrections or suggestions to
<a href="mailto:address@hidden";><em>address@hidden</em></a>.
</p>
@@ -216,7 +180,7 @@
</p>
<p>
-Copyright © 2003 Richard M. Stallman.
+Copyright © 2003 Richard M. Stallman
<br />
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
@@ -225,10 +189,46 @@
<p>
Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2007/09/16 14:47:46 $ $Author: tuijldert $
+$Date: 2008/07/28 14:00:24 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>
+<div id="translations">
+<h4>Translations of this page</h4>
+
+<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical by language code. -->
+<!-- Comment what the language is for each type, i.e. de is German. -->
+<!-- Write the language name in its own language (Deutsch) in the text. -->
+<!-- If you add a new language here, please -->
+<!-- advise address@hidden and add it to -->
+<!-- - /home/www/html/server/standards/README.translations.html -->
+<!-- - one of the lists under the section "Translations Underway" -->
+<!-- - if there is a translation team, you also have to add an alias -->
+<!-- to mail.gnu.org:/com/mailer/aliases -->
+<!-- Please also check you have the language code right; see: -->
+<!-- http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php -->
+<!-- If the 2-letter ISO 639-1 code is not available, -->
+<!-- use the 3-letter ISO 639-2. -->
+<!-- Please use W3C normative character entities. -->
+
+<ul class="translations-list">
+<!-- German -->
+<li><a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.de.html">Deutsch</a> [de]</li>
+<!-- English -->
+<li><a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.html">English</a> [en]</li>
+<!-- Spanish -->
+<li><a
href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.es.html">Español</a> [es]</li>
+<!-- French -->
+<li><a
href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.fr.html">Français</a> [fr]</li>
+<!-- Italian -->
+<li><a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.it.html">Italiano</a> [it]</li>
+<!-- Dutch -->
+<li><a
href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.nl.html">Nederlands</a> [nl]</li>
+<!-- Polish -->
+<li><a href="/philosophy/sco/sco-gnu-linux.pl.html">Polski</a> [pl]</li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+</div>
</body>
</html>
- www/philosophy/sco sco-gnu-linux.html,
Yavor Doganov <=