Posted on 05/24/2006 9:32:43 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The Curious Incident of Sun in the Night-Time
~ by Richard Stallman
Our community has been abuzz with the rumor that Sun has made its implementation Java free software (or "open source"). Community leaders even publicly thanked Sun for its contribution. What is Sun's new contribution to the FLOSS community?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing--and that's what makes the response to this non-incident so curious.
Sun's Java implementation remains proprietary software, just as before. It doesn't come close to meeting the criteria for free software, or the similar but slightly looser criteria for open source. Its source code is available only under an NDA.
So what did Sun actually do? It allowed more convenient redistribution of the binaries of its Java platform. With this change, GNU/Linux distros can include the non-free Sun Java platform, just as some now include the non-free nVidia driver. But they do so only at the cost of being non-free.
The Sun license has one restriction that may ironically reduce the tendency for users to accept non-free software without thinking twice: it insists that the operating system distributor get the user's explicit agreement to the license before letting the user install the code. This means the system cannot silently install Sun's Java platform without warning users they have non-free software, as some GNU/Linux systems silently install the nVidia driver.
If you look closely at Sun's announcement, you will see that it accurately represents these facts. It does not say that Sun's Java platform is free software, or even open source. It only predicts that the platform will be "widely available" on "leading open source platforms". Available, that is, as proprietary software, on terms that deny your freedom.
Why did this non-incident generate a large and confused reaction? Perhaps because people do not read these announcements carefully. Ever since the term "open source" was coined, we have seen companies find ways to use it and their product name in the same sentence. (They don't seem to do this with "free software", though they could if they wanted to.) The careless reader may note the two terms in proximity and falsely assume that one talks about the other.
Some believe that this non-incident represents Sun's exploratory steps towards eventually releasing its Java platform as free software. Let's hope Sun does that some day. We would welcome that, but we should save our appreciation for the day that actually occurs. In the mean time, the Java Trap still lies in wait for the work of programmers who don't take precautions to avoid it.
We in the GNU Project continue developing the GNU Compiler for Java and GNU Classpath; we made great progress in the past year, so our free platform for Java is included in many major GNU/Linux distros. If you want to run Java and have freedom, please join in and help.
Copyright 2006 Richard Stallman
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are permitted worldwide without royalty in any medium provided this notice is preserved.
Slax is installable via the Slax Installer.
They're up to 5.16 (I still have a customized 5.07) :|
Mine has XFCE and KDE as desktop environments (though someone recently put up a Gnome module...)
There's about 700 modules--ranging from wallpapers to drivers to games, even entire desktop environments.
With Websave and configsave, it's possible to save your configuration and restore it on the next boot.
Base isos are around 200MB...
IIRC, Zenwalk was either Minislack or Zipslack (don't remember exactly)
It's what got me comfortable enough to actually try and run Slackware 10.
The other live CD I sometimes run is FreeSBIE--which is based on FreeBSD 5.3
Once again repeating Apple's statement that posted to you earlier - Although the source for the new Intel kernel has not been published yet, Apple has not announced a change in their open source policy on the kernel. Apple is expected to say more about the Intel kernel source situation at the next developer's conference. I'll speculate it will be fully published a few weeks before Leopard is released, consistent with their past practices.
Regarding Stallman and FSF software, much of it IS INCLUDED with Mac OS X, including emacs and the gcc compiler. Apple IS REQUIRED to comply with the GPL on those items. You can open the Terminal application and enter the commands "man gcc" and "man emacs" to confirm that fact. Other notable GPL software packages on Mac OS X include gdb, perl, samba and grep.
Several other open source software packages using licenses other than GPL are also included with Mac OS X, and Apple complies with their respective terms and conditions. A comprehensive list of Mac OS X software components and licenses is stored at /Library/Documentation/Acknowledgements.rtf.
Nobody here likes Stallman's personal politics. He's not on the list of people I admire in the industry. But he is a good programmer and a lot of people have made a lot of money from his work.
Well there sure are quite a few that rush to his defense whenever I remind them what a moonbat he is. I think we have quite a few "techno whores" that pledge their allegiance to the "god of technology" above all else, and would support the devil himself if he wowed them with new capabilities, especially if they were "given away" "for free". Nobody wants to hear this though, as the truth is often painful.
Nobody rushes to his defense, Don Quixote...
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