[PLUG] Kylix?

Jeme A Brelin jeme at brelin.net
Sat May 11 23:00:43 UTC 2002


On Thu, 9 May 2002, Carla Schroder wrote:
> It costs money. Linux nerds are cheap, and would rather endlessly
> tweak a hunk of funky free software than pay for something that works.

I need to say that I'm deeply offended by this characterization -- not
because it depicts us (I'm self-identifying with the dubious term "Linux
nerds" here) as frugal (or falsely frugal, as the example of driving all
over to save a dollar shows), but because it implies, to me, that the
appeal of Free Software is its (entirely incidental) free-as-in-beer
quality and ignores the fact that Kylix may have failed for its lack of a
free-as-in-freedom quality.

The fact that Free Software is available at no cost is due entirely to
relatively low-cost storage media and high-bandwidth peer-to-peer network
connectivity.  Remember, the FSF supported itself for years selling tapes
of GNU Emacs for over a hundred dollars each.

Free Software exists because of the human drive to share with his fellow
man and improve the general condition of all people.  Proprietary software
exists to exploit relative advantage and create inequity (as much as
possible, as I understand the theory).

Perhaps, Carla, just perhaps, some people have concerns other than their
pocketbooks.

J.
-- 
   -----------------
     Jeme A Brelin
    jeme at brelin.net
   -----------------
 [cc] counter-copyright
 http://www.openlaw.org





More information about the PLUG mailing list