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Poll
I care
No 100%

Votes: 35

 GPL goes to court

 Author:  Topic:  Posted:
Feb 26, 2002
 Comments:
First off I like to mention that this is not in anyway meant to be a GPL'd slap in the face. It's not meant to be any sort of GPL vs commercial license or open source vs. closed source diary entry.

However, there are many people who question whether or not the GNU General Public License could hold up in court. As many of you already know the Free Software Foundation has been very good about privately investigating infringements and companies in violation have, for the most part, played nice.

[Editor's note, by zikzak] Holy fucking shit this is boring. I've added a poll to help liven it up.

diaries

More diaries by koochee girl
Just wonderin'
TOS a joke to behold
XP: almost complete
Who's Copying Who?
AMD and MS: Buudies?
MS to share MORE code
GPL goes to court: Part 2
Anyone who wants to check out the goings on can read about the looming court case here.

Unrelated (but useful) Stuff
----------------------------
XP users, get what you've been missing...Java plus article
For Windows admins/users who like to patch
Star Office 6 not free
Linux distro for the paranoid

       
Tweet

Oh goody. (3.00 / 1) (#1)
by tkatchev on Tue Feb 26th, 2002 at 01:54:38 PM PST
At last, important and exciting news we can all care about...


--
Peace and much love...

 
It will be hilarious (5.00 / 1) (#2)
by osm on Tue Feb 26th, 2002 at 07:43:10 PM PST
when the GPL is rejected in court. It will be delicious when Bill Gates wipes his ass with that worthless license. It will be joyous when you go back to slithering about in dyke bars and quit posting this stupid bullshit.

What will you do? (none / 0) (#6)
by Anonymous Reader on Tue Feb 26th, 2002 at 10:39:48 PM PST
What will you do if the courts uphold the GPL?

This is not meant as a troll, this is genuine curiosity. Despite your nick, you obviously have little respect for the movement. What will you do if the GPL is survives judicial review?

Obviously, (5.00 / 1) (#7)
by Anonymous Reader on Wed Feb 27th, 2002 at 03:21:21 AM PST
osm's entire world will be sent into a horrible tailspin that will end with him becoming a naked recluse, spending his remaining days in a lonely apartment with his cats and his dreams of Eva Habermann.

--Anonymous Reader #24601

 
that osopinion opinion on java is plain stupid (3.50 / 2) (#3)
by Anonymous Reader on Tue Feb 26th, 2002 at 09:13:22 PM PST
obviously if MS cannot develop Java as it sees fit it isnt going to go to the effort of developing it all. Why should it when Sun *must* do it for them or literally kill java dead. "Write once, run everywhere" doesnt mean "write once, run only on those 0.24% of all desktops untainted by Microsoft quality", you know.

Microsoft can implement extensions to C++ because C++, unlike Java, is merely a language specification, not a Sun product. Meanwhile, I dont see Sun volunteering to bear the cost and effort of developing MS products like MSIE and Word. Honestly, you Lunix crackers sucking common sense right out of computer journalism with your newsforges and your osopinions.

And so what if XP users have to download a JRE in order to make their Pentium IVs run like 386s? So do Lunatix. Actually, Lunatix do that even before they download java. So what if XP users have to download a JRE in order to play pong in their browsers? At least they can play games on their computers, unlike Lunatix.

 
Allow me to summarize. (none / 0) (#4)
by mfk on Tue Feb 26th, 2002 at 09:28:14 PM PST
* Company called NuSphere makes some product, and mistakenly licenses it under the GPL, instead of choosing a fine alternative such as Microsoft's Shared Source program.

* Some anal Lunix hacker notices that said company did not release the source code, and decides to go after the company by notifying the Forcibly Sucky Foundation (aka FSF). After all the GPL has never been tested in its 10 years and therefore is infallible.

* NuSphere releases source code, but too late: Richardios M. Stallmantyos is bent on showing his nonexistant lawyer skills - he wrote the GPL, after all.

And, finally, it is posted to this diary entry in the form of 'news'

By the way, zikzak, I must congratulate you on making such an insightful poll.

uh what? (none / 0) (#10)
by Anonymous Reader on Thu Feb 28th, 2002 at 09:48:52 PM PST
Company called NuSphere makes some product, and mistakenly licenses it under the GPL, instead of choosing a fine alternative such as Microsoft's Shared Source program.
The Shared Source Initiative is not a license and it is for Microsoft products only. If a company or you develop(s) software you/they cannot place it within the Microsoft Shared Source Initiative. Once in the program it's Microsoft's property not yours. That's right. You would lose all rights to it. Maybe you prefer the BSD license or maybe MIT or any of the other open source licenses.
Some anal Lunix hacker notices that said company did not release the source code, and decides to go after the company by notifying the Forcibly Sucky Foundation (aka FSF). After all the GPL has never been tested in its 10 years and therefore is infallible.
You should check updates on the story. The judge says the GPL is enforceable.
NuSphere releases source code, but too late: Richardios M. Stallmantyos is bent on showing his nonexistant lawyer skills - he wrote the GPL, after all.
Richard Stallman isn't doing anything. It's just the Free Software Foundation. And the FSF does have some very powerful lawyers and law school professors looking at the case as well.

Also mfk I must congratulate you for being a moron who didn't bother to think before typing.

 
Shared Source is crap. (none / 0) (#11)
by The Mad Scientist on Fri Mar 1st, 2002 at 04:43:40 AM PST
...instead of choosing a fine alternative such as Microsoft's Shared Source program.

Warning clue #1: It's Microsoft's. Which means it will suck either technically or legally. Or - the most often - both.

Everything Microsoft ever done served only one primary purpose: To bring more money and marketing power to them and to raise the value of MSFT on the stock market. This is what they do really well.

I remember the times when MSFT was a small company without the power to steamroll over the competition. I remember the times when the market was actually fair. I seen the real development and I seen what was peddled to us as "improvements". I seen the blasts and I experienced the fallout.

The very fact that Microsoft lets anyone to even peek into their Holy Code is a good indication of the level of fear they feel. Unsurprisingly, as everything Microsoft even came with, their Shared Source is tainted by corporate greed. *Any* licence is better than their one.

I developed cold, dark hate for MSFT. They deserve no sympathy. They deserve to taste the bottom of the steamroller, as they so love to make the others to.


 
Wow! (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by jvance on Tue Feb 26th, 2002 at 09:34:40 PM PST
I never would have found news like this on Slashdot or ZDNet! Thank you!

--
Adequacy has turned into a cesspool consisting of ... blubbering, superstitious fools arguing with smug, pseudointellectual assholes. -AR

Wow! (none / 0) (#9)
by Anonymous Reader on Thu Feb 28th, 2002 at 10:39:59 AM PST
By reading this, you have illegally copied my property to your brain. Report yourself to the FBI immediately.

I never would have found a sig like this on Slashdot or ZDNet! Thank you!


 
PIE (none / 0) (#8)
by Fury The Hacker on Wed Feb 27th, 2002 at 08:54:08 AM PST
GPL NORT GOD ENUFO FOR YHO PIE NRT EITHR DIE ANT HAQQ YHO


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Hi! I'm banned!

 

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