[LBo] GPL - Freedom [WAS Re: Wireless driver support]

[James Allen]

On 10/22/06, Stefan Waidele <Stefan at waidele.info> wrote:
> The problem with drivers is that they need to include parts of the
> kernel-sources, which are GPL.
>
> Some companies created "driver-stubs" which they GPL'd and which would
> make proprietary drivvers work. IIRC, this has been disliked by the
> kernel developers, because it creates more and more non-free parts of linux.
>
> This "stubbornness" of the GPL is vital for free software. It is the
> only means to prevent "embrace and extent", a tactic which a big
> software company successfully employed against major free standards.
>
> And since Linux' success is basically due to the license it is
> distributed under (/me shouts: "FREEDOM!"), it can be picky about the
> friends it makes (or the drivers it loads :)
>
> I am glad that Debian is very pedantic when it comes to the freedoms
> granted by the GPL.
>
> Stefan
>
> PS: I didn't follow the whole thread, but I would like to notice that
> the fact that some piece of hardware does not run under Linux is NOT
> Linux' fault. It plainly shows that the manufacturer is not interested
> in making business with Linux-users. They don't want us to run their
> hardware.
>
> Unsupported hardware does not judge Linux. It judges the manufacturer.


Well said Stephen! One of the reasons I switched to Linux was the GPL
and freedom.

Too many times, people will buy hardware and then when the corporation
that built it doesn't support Linux or freedom they try to blame
Linux. It's not Linux fault, it's the proprietary companies fault. If
Linux was to accept proprietary code into the kernel, it would end up
being just another operating system. Thankfully, the GPL is a great
protection.

Look at how the BSD license is a failure for freedom. Apple used it as
their new basis but much else is proprietary. I'm not going to go out
and buy a MAC. I don't care about buying their entertainment services
or the Microsoft software it can run.

James