Re: Commercial programs in Debian
On Friday 05 May 2006 06:53, Gudjon I. Gudjonsson wrote:
> Hi
> Sorry for the disturbion but I would like to mention some things.
> I have been thinking about if it was possible to set up some bug list as a
> kind of quality assurance for commercial programs in Debian. Most
> commercial programs I have seen are only said to be compatible with RedHat
> and sometimes SuSe. Such a list might make it more interesting for the
> companies to port their applications to Debian and it would definetly make
> my life easier:).
This is a most un-Debian-like thing to be doing. Instead of running non-Free
software on Debian, we should be seeking to create real Free alternatives
{although, demanding source code from vendors would certainly not hurt. I
have nothing in principle against the use of reasonable force in the course
of obtaining Source Code.}
Availability of Source Code is *the* single biggest reason why so much of the
software that is found in Debian can run on so many different architectures
{second only to NetBSD if I recall correctly?} That diversity is something
we should be proud of. *Un*availability of Source Code has already destroyed
a certain other operating system: every new release has to support a growing
heap of legacy code, and every insecurity ever exploited by a legitimate
program has to remain.
--
AJS
delta echo bravo six four at earthshod dot co dot uk
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