A few notes... and a rant.
Diego Saravia wrote:
>>The truth is, that great mayoria of the users of tecnologia, does not
>>estan to as much of knowing if what uses is free or no, (Already we
>>have seen it in Internet) and really, it does not matter to them
>>either.
>
>But they concern the consequences to them, for example virus,
>troyanso, espias and demas.
While at present there are no viruses, trojans, spyware and other things
of note on Linux, it is wrong to expect people to switch on this basis.
It is realistic to consider that as Linux is used more and more, these
things will happen with Linux. This argument will not stand the test of
time, as many other things will not.
When Free Software/Open Source is talked about in 20 years, the history
will remember the community and the cooperation within the community.
Free Software/Open Source is not about technology, it is about people.
Some say it's about Freedom, but what is Freedom? Freedom means nothing
without context.
The price of software is a business issue. The usability of software - the
ability to use it in the way one chooses - is a community issue. Free
Software and Open Source software provide this, though Free Software by
definition allows more usability.
The real issue when it comes to comparing proprietary software with Free
Software in the developing world is not price, and I do not know why people
who advocate Free Software speak of software available at no cost. That
lends to confusion, and is also inaccurate. Someone always pays; the
difference with Free Software is who pays. If I volunteer my time on a Free
Software vendor, I have paid. If someone pays me to work on a Free Software
project, they have paid. But the entire community benefits.
With proprietary software in developing countries, the 'price' of most
software is very close to zero, unless one is in business. This is because
people do share, regardless of licensing. Richard Stallman and I don't
necessarily agree on this point (we did discuss it), because he says that
the proprietary licensing is immoral and therefore is not to be enforced.
But my opinion is that if someone agrees to a contract, they are bound by
that contract. This is a silly thing called accountability, which is
severely lacking in the developing world and is really the crux of the problem.
To people who do not feel accountable for their own actions, Free Software
and Proprietary software are just things to be used. They didn't care about
anyone's rights from the start - so how can you give them more rights? Does
anyone think that the children who play games really want the source code,
and that they really care that giving it to a friend breaks some licensing
agreement?
The difference has a lot to do with accountability, and it's a cultural
issue. It has nothing to do with viruses, worms, trojans, spyware or cost.
>>The cost is of course an important element in any politica of
>>masificacion.
>
>the cost is the less important as far as the question of the liberties in
>the world TIC.
Liberties... everyone talks of liberties... of freedoms... but by
themselves they mean nothing. What one does with liberty, with freedom...
that is what this is about.
>>I insist, that the present model era and is untenable, and this changing,
>>we are walking to one formulates convergent, where with a new model both
>>worlds coexist, for benefit of many.
>I doubt that both worlds coexist, in this we agreed many of the privative
>world and the free one, that are a war until death and that is no space
>for two types of licensing, at least in the massive systems. -
They will co-exist, because they are not competing systems. Free Software
is simply what software was before proprietary licensing came
along, enforced by copyright. Proprietary software will be around as
long as people do not wish to find themselves accountable.
Free Software means rights, it means responsibilities... it means knowing
what your software is supposed to do instead of a large company telling you
what your software should do. Many people simply don't care - either out of
ignorance or out of intellectual laziness. I see it as senseless to argue
with people about their operating system and how it impinges on my freedom
- their individual software does not impinge on my freedom.
But when governments force people to use proprietary software, this is
wrong on many different levels. That impinges on my freedom, and the
freedom of the community.
Taran Rampersad
Este archivo fue generado por hypermail 2.1.3 : Tue Jan 4 10:02:49 2005 AST