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Re: [OT] How much open is OpenSolaris?



On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:07:47 -0400, Celejar wrote in
20070330110747.40f06d4a.celejar@gmail.com:

> On Fri, 30 Mar 2007 08:30:09 -0400
> Michael Pobega <pobega@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> On Fri, Mar 30, 2007 at 08:14:34AM -0300, Bruno Buys wrote:
>> > From time to time I grab a diferent OS to install and try my hands at
>> > it. This time was OpenSolaris. The thing is, at some point in the
>> > install, OpenSolaris throws a license at my face that doesn't seem
>> > open at all. I can run the software, but I can't redistribute, copy,
>> > etc. I am no law expert, but that license doesn't seem really open or
>> > free. As far as I could tell, at least grub and (a javified version
>> > of) gnome are free, and OpenSolaris is using it. Maybe it uses other
>> > free software. So, doesn't that license conflicts with the gpl? Its
>> > not to flame Sun, I know the company has contributed a lot with the
>> > community, and many folks respects them. Just trying to get things
>> > clearer.
>> > 
>> > 
>>  From what I remember, OpenSolaris is distributed under the CDDL
>> license[0]. The license is actually written by Sun, and according to
>> the Wikipedia article "The [FSF] considers it a free license
>> incompatible with the GNU General Public License (GPL)". I guess this
>> means that although it is free, it isn't free under GPL standards (What
>> other licenses are, anyway? I believe BSD it, but I don't know of any
>> others).

..Sun people has gone on record stating this incompatibility is "by 
design" under a set of specific strategic litigation policies, AFAIUI 
from the rather extensive coverage at http://groklaw.net/ .

>> The controversy section on the Wikipedia page may be the most
>> informative to you, considering where you asked this question[1].
>> 
>> 
>> [0]
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Common_Development_and_Distribution_License
>> [1]
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Common_Development_and_Distribution_License#Controversy
> 
> IIUC, controversy over whether the CDDL is FSF / GPL compatible is at
> the heart of the removal of cdrtools from Debian and its replacement
> with that forked thing whose name escapes me at the moment. Joerg and

..Jörg starting a new thread with Message-ID: 
<460d4f66.ZEQJNBW0XbcrnYLQ%Joerg.Schilling@fokus.fraunhofer.de>
reminds me of a picture taken of a C-130 approaching some Bosnian 
airbase, spraying strawman chaff to evade a missile hit.  ;o)

> Roberto have battled vigorously over this here on this list (as well as
> on other Debian lists, according to Google).

..thank you, Roberto.  :o)

> 
> Celejar

-- 
..med vennlig hilsen = with Kind Regards from Arnt... ;o)
...with a number of polar bear hunters in his ancestry...
  Scenarios always come in sets of three: 
  best case, worst case, and just in case.



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