Change for Caldera OpenLinux Workstation

[Jan Nieuwenhuizen]

Stefan Meretz <stefan.meretz at hbv.org> writes:

> > I don't see a difference between SuSE and Caldera.  Both are selling
> > freedom subtracted GNU/Linux systems.  SuSE just allows for verbatim
> > copies if you don't take money for it; this is freeware and not Free
> > Software.  So Caldera now switched to take money - Microsoft could do
> > the same with their Internet Exploder at any time.
> 
> This is a too simple answer! Suse and Caldera use the same logic (add
> prop software to free software), but the results are different: I can
> copy Suse-Systems as often as I want and put it on many computers, and
> this is covered by the Suse prop license for Yast. I can not use Caldera
> in the same way, I have to _buy_ a license for every system on which I
> want to install Caldera. I don't want to defend Suse, but this is an
> essential difference in practice.

Yes, it's a practical difference.  It can be very inconvenient,
because it may cost you money.  But it's not more than that, a
practical inconvenience.  The fact that you *can* get bitten by this
at all, is the fact that Caldera's package is indeed freedom
subtracted.  But so is SuSE's.

Just because SuSE imposes smaller practical inconveniences for you at
this point in time, you see no harm in freedom subtracted packages?

Jan.

-- 
Jan Nieuwenhuizen <janneke at gnu.org> | GNU LilyPond - The music typesetter
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jantien       | http://www.lilypond.org