Re: Commercial programs in Debian
On Monday 08 May 2006 18:34, A J Stiles wrote:
> On Monday 08 May 2006 15:46, Francesco Pietra wrote:
> > However, there is scientific proprietary software from small
> > softwarehouses that has decades of experience and development, is sold
> > with accompanying source code, and solves problems that debian is quite
> > far from solving. Again, don't ask me the names because I am not
> > advertising (and I am user not softwarehouse) but I believe that such
> > softwarehouses deserve full support. They have my support.
>
> There is an important distinction between software like this {the
> traditional model, dating back to the days when Source Code was the only
> thing any two systems might have in common}, and proprietary,
> closed-source software which is distributed as a binary executable only
> {and requires a homogeneous execution environment; something which has only
> really become possible recently with the dominance of the 80%86
> architecture and Windows}. It's not Free software because it can't be
> distributed freely; but at least the vendor respects the purchaser's right
> to inspect and modify the Source Code
I would like to intervene again about the last paragraph. I read your
statemente "It's not Free software... but at least.." as placing Free
Software at a a higher (socially higher) level than Proprietary Software
(meant in the terms I specified above). If I read correctly, I disagree. I
disagree because that Proprietary Software allows me to do reseach work that
I could not otherwise carry out. The inventor who built the softwarehouse
lives from his invention and from his constant improvement of the product
(which generally is, how you could easily imagine, small business). Would you
not agree to support him? He does great service to the society. (again I
declare not to have any commercial involvment with any software house,
although from time to time i helped to improve the product by using it, while
I never claimed to get that acknowledged because I live from chemical
research).
francesco pietra
>
> {I would also expect that such suppliers would be willing to accept
> customer-contributed patches, even possibly giving credit for them in
> subsequent versions.}
>
> It is the vendors who treat their customers like children and refuse to let
> them see exactly what they are running on their own computers who deserve
> the greatest contempt. After all, would you buy any processed food that
> did not include a list of the ingredients and the protein/fat/carbohydrate
> breakdown?
>
> --
> AJS
> delta echo bravo six four at earthshod dot co dot uk
Reply to: