Re: Obsolesence of Intellectual Property

From: mjg223 (mjg223@is7.nyu.edu)
Date: Thu Aug 03 2000 - 14:00:02 MDT


On Thu, 3 Aug 2000, Michael S. Lorrey wrote:
> So the 'Official' Red Hat CANNOT be reproduced, and I cannot sell or give away
> the work of Red Hat (whether its their programming work or their Customer
> Support work is really irrelevant, and a pointless distinction) without
> compensating them to the degree they desire.

Utter nonsense. I can have all the same bits without the pretty box for
free if I grab it off their ftp server, minus some non-free added value
junk. I can install it on as many machines as I want, I can burn CDs and
pay you to take them from me, I can call it some thing else and start a
company putting it a different box. (Witness Mandrake.)

Calling the distinction between software and support pointless is
insanity. The software is free, paying a human being to help you use it or
adapt it to your purposes isn't. That's the whole freaking free-software
business model - that's what RMS has been talking about for years.

-matt



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