Re: The ASP nightmare: a description (was Re: OSD && DFSG - different purposes - constructive suggestion!)
* Jeremy Hankins <nowan@nowan.org> [030312 18:53]:
> tb@becket.net (Thomas Bushnell, BSG) writes:
> So they take
> commonly available Free software packages and stick them behind a web
> interface. Gcc, tetex, emacs, etc. They lock them down so that no
> one can access the filesystem of the server directly via these
> packages (and thus gain access to the binaries, say), and charge a
> monthly fee for access. Maybe they provide a sort of stripped down
> client computer with a browser (possibly all proprietary) that is set
> up to use their server for all your computing needs.
I think there is also a more simple situation to think about.
Consider a university has a computer lab for the students with
some software installed. If the software is GPLed, do the students
have a right to get the source of the programs?
And if yes, why? If anyone had claimed such any kind of distribution
in this area some years ago, I'd taken it for a good joke[1]. Today
more and more people seem to even see remotely interacting with software
as something a licence can cope with.
(I somehow like when my freedom to own paper-scissors got abandowned as
people feel the right of people to no been hurt is more important is
this area).
Hochachtungsvoll,
Bernhard R. Link
[1] compareable to a cat /bin/clear on a Solaris of the right version.
--
Sendmail is like emacs: A nice operating system, but missing
an editor and a MTA.
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