Re: Open source - Free software

[Rui Miguel Silva Seabra]

Qua, 2006-09-27 às 02:44 -0700, v4vijayakumar escreveu:
> "open", I meant software that we have access to its source code. Still,
> I think "open" and "free" mean the same way in "Open Software
> Foundation" and "Free Software Foundation". If this is wrong, then,
> could you please let me know the right questions to ask myself?

Most of the time, when people speak about "open source" they are talking
about Free Software.

However, they commonly discard the idea that people have certain rights
calling it "political" or "extremist" or other such adjectives used in a
degeneratie form, and instead promote and idea that "open source" is a
matter of technical superiority.

If some proprietary software is better, they usually have no problems
recommending you to use it instead of some Free Software that does the
same albeit in a different or not so good way. Just look at Eric Raymond
(former director of the OSI), who has no problem recommending people to
use proprietary media codecs, proprietary software etc... etc...

He has no such problem because he doesn't view as important that users
have the right to:
        0 run the program for any purpose
        1 study and modify the program at will
        2 distribute copies of the program
        3 publish modified versions of the program

Most "opensourcers" view "open source" as a superior model of
development, but if it's not "open source" and it works fine, then it's
okay to use it. Even if it later bites their shiny "open source" ass...

Just look at Linus and the other kernel developers who abided to
BitKeeper, until the owners of that proprietary software decided to pull
the plug after a Free Software author found a way to free people from
BitKeeper.

Rui

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