Re: Commercial programs in Debian
On Tuesday 09 May 2006 00:17, Sam Varghese wrote:
> On Mon, May 08, 2006 at 06:19:44PM +0200 Francesco Pietra said:
> > 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).
>
> Do you really believe that a business is set up for any other purpose
> than to make money? The person running the business may create good
> products but that is a matter of his/her own business practices; for
> every good product there are 99 card-sharpers.
>
> When it comes to software and hardware, businesses try to get and keep
> your business using lock-in. Period. That their software and hardware
> does what you need is purely incidental.
>
> Having spent the last two days trying to source a laptop for my teenaged
> daughter, I can tell you that I have about had it with the manufacturers
> and the way they literally force you to buy what they have on display.
> They can do this because apart from the drive and the memory, everything
> else is built according to their own "design." If the laptop had been
> commoditised the way the PC is, there would be an entirely different
> situation.
>
> Free software does not lock you in because the standards are open.
>
> Sam
> --
> Sam Varghese
> http://www.gnubies.com
> The chief virtue that language can have is clearness, and nothing detracts
> from it so much as the use of unfamiliar words.
> My PGP key: http://www.gnubies.com/encryption/sign.txt
We are talking about different worlds, different sectors of the world. The
world I alluded to does exist. Surely as one of rare spots but it exists as I
described.
francesco
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