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spockofborg
May 5th, 2011, 11:48 PM
I'm a student in college and for english we have to make a zine. The subject of my zine is Open Source Software, where I will be highlighting the differences between Open and Closed source, as well as Free vs. Commercial licensing, and will also include tips and resources to guide new users on the path to libre software. What I need from all you wonderful people is help with the interview part of the zine.

What's unique about this school is that we happen to have the WORLDS largest collection of zines.. so your answers will live on long after this semester and even long after these forums are archived; they could possibly be looked at by historians many hundreds of years from now.

I have come up with 9 questions on the subject of software licensing. PLEASE feel free to include comments outside of these questions.

Thanks in advance,
-Kent

1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

bowens44
May 6th, 2011, 12:00 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

1. End user and support

2. Access to the source, freedom and cost.

3. No.

4. I would be more inclined to use it but if it's still 'windows' it's still inferior. Blue screen of death would still be a blue screen of death. Security holes would still be security holes.

5. No.

6. Probably not. Most people don't care.

7. yes

8. Don't know

9. Can't think of anyone.....

Spice Weasel
May 6th, 2011, 12:09 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

I make stable programs incredibly unstable through the careful art of tinkering. I also give technical support to people running free unix-like OSes online and in the outside world, but not on a real professional level.

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

Definitely the community and the DIY spirit. Every single user has the opportunity to change the software project for better or for worse, and that's excellent. Everyone can be involved.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

No.

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

No.

I really dislike the filesystem layout and the registry. I'm more happy with my current setup than I would be with any other currently available OS.

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

Probably not. That would take away a lot of what makes the operating system special.

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

Yes. I'm sure more people would consider buying it, but the percentage of people who care about such things is so low that Apple would barely be effected.

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

Who knows? Anything could happen.

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

See above answer.

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

I would ask people on the internet and I would expect a wide range of different answers.

el_koraco
May 6th, 2011, 12:17 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

End user, with a penchant for needlessly destroying completely viable systems

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

On a personal level, having fun messing with the system by yourself, through the help of good documentation and community support. On a little less personal level, the best model for software development today.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

No.

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

If they severely imrpoved some of its aspects, I would, but that isn't contingent on it being owned by anyone.

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

Probably not, it would loose most of what it is today.

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

A minor percantage. i don't think the source nature of Apple products plays any great role in people buying it.

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

The system itself might benefit, not sure about Apple though :D

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

ibid.

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect

Well, kinda like you are right now. I'm not into drive-by polls.

Exodist
May 6th, 2011, 12:48 AM
I'm a student in college and for english we have to make a zine. The subject of my zine is Open Source Software, ............

I will keep my answer short and sweet.
License I have no issues with. Everyone has the right to their own license for software they create.
My issue is with Software Patents. Software Patents slow the evolution of software design. How is it fair that someone can think of a mundane idea "spell checker just for a cheap example", but have no clue how to program it. Then a real programmer tries to build a spell check feature into his/her code, only to be stopped by the patent police and be required to pay royalties to the "idea guy", even tho the idea guy never wrote any code.

Now how would that be fare. Big companies throw numerous patents at patent offices every week in hopes that a few stick here and there.

Speaking of spell checker, Microsoft recently a few years back tried to patent it. But luckily was struck down and never got the patent.

GabrielYYZ
May 6th, 2011, 01:47 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

1. end user and, lately, i've been programming but calling me a programmer is like calling a cow "horse"

2. the sense of freedom it conveys, you're never wondering "hey, i wonder when bug {x} will get fixed" or "man, it'd be really awesome if program {y} had {z} feature" without having the freedom to actually get involved in the process and voice your opinion and feel that, even if you can't code, you might have played a small role in making a program better, even if it is by submitting a bug report.

3. no, if i had known about linux when i started using windows, right now i wouldn't even know about "dir" or "cls" nor would i make the "cd.." mistake.

4. no, see above.

5. if the OS remained largely the same, without compromising quality, i would pay for it, yeah.

6. no.

7. no, their business model doesn't work with the GPL license.

8. i don't really know, but i don't think so.

9. N/A

3Miro
May 6th, 2011, 02:10 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.


I do scientific computing, i.e. I make specialized software used for science and math.



2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.


Freedom! Especially the ability to modify an existing program to suit your individual needs.



3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?


NO! They have to make it free as in freedom and then I can consider it for dual-boot for games or something. Windows cannot handle scientific computing, so it is no win for work either way.



4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?


Open Source is not the same as "many distributions". You should clear your terminology on what you call Free software (no money), Freedom software (respects the 4 rights of the user), Open Source (can study the source, which is only one of the four freedoms).

See the answer to number 3.



5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?


I am assuming "wholly owned" means it does not respect my rights. I would not use the software (will replace the kernel with BSD or something else like that).



6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?


Yes. This will lead to more and better apps for the iGadgets.



7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?


Yes. Note that they can still sell it, they will just need to put less effort in making and maintaining the thing.



8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?


No. It wouldn't have made any difference.



9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

Can't think of any individual person.

alexfish
May 6th, 2011, 03:01 AM
Not in habit of replying loaded questions that incite an obvious reply , if you look for a NO , you get a ""
Look for Yes you get a ""
As regards Microsoft (the loaded argument) , yes in the past have developed software of a usable format,repeat ,in the past.
they have left it to late to develop the future, now they are in the same process of buying or developing links "", where many sit this is only a repeat of a long playing record with a scratch on every revolution , well for some more than a scratch.
We are now looking to the Future , a platform which allows freedom of use and freedom to develop,irrespective of financial gain, that is a matter of choice . thanks to Linux , Choice has a new meaning.

Legendary_Bibo
May 7th, 2011, 03:40 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

Enduser, but I might be a support professional soon



2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

That it works.



3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?


One of their distributors did give me a free copy as a prize, and I do use it. Windows 7 is a very nice OS and big step up from Vista.



4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?


As long as it worked well.



5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?


As long as it worked well



6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?


Most people wouldn't know what to do with the extra freedom. Most people just don't care, they're the end user and they just want their device to work. I don't even care, as long as it worked.



7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?


They seem to be doing fine. The question is do people want Apple to open up their software to benefit them, or to benefit Apple?



8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?


It seems to be doing fine as is, it could be better, it might not be. We need to stop worrying about the what ifs and think more about the "what now"'s.



9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

Someone else in my Linux class probably.

Dustin2128
May 7th, 2011, 06:01 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

enduser, casual programming, heavy web development



2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

Probably the ability to modify it to any extent, and fork it if you don't like the way it's going. Freedom, basically.


3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

I'd stick it on my gaming rig, but nothing I'd ever actually do anything serious on.


4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?
Depends on quality of the distributions, really. If this happened tommorow, I couldn't see me putting it much other than, yeah, my gaming rig.


5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

Nope. BSD.

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?
Not really, the 10ish percent of people who care about their rights as customers just jailbreak them.


7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?
Honestly, it all depends on PoV. It'd get a lot more popular but they'd loose loads of quality control (e.g. only being able to install it on their own hardware).


8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

Yes, google withholding the source code to android 3.0 bothers me.


9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?
Dunno.

Oxwivi
May 7th, 2011, 07:13 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.
End user, advocate (member of a LoCo) and a partial support provider (feel free to omit the last two terms if you need definite values)


2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.
Source-codes open to view and edit.


3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?
Depends. Right now I don't have any system capable of running games, so I would take it but only for future purposes.


4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?
If the open-source Windows is as customizable as Linux, sure. If Windows was open-source, the choice would be much like the current BSD (the open ones) or Linux.


5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?
No, because there'd be open alternatives assuming that the kernel and GNU parts are still open-source.


6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?
Yes, because they'd be infinitely more customizable. It'd spawn something similar to the hundreds of Android mods available out there.


7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?


8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?
No comment, I am not aware of the differences and restriction of either licenses.


9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?
NIL

For the comments part, what exactly do you mean by Linux in question 5? Linux is the kernel that Linus started developing, and the OS we generally use are the combination of GNU/Linux. Question 5 doesn't make it clear if the kernel and GNU tools remain open-source.

Retlol
May 7th, 2011, 11:17 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

enduser

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

safe and free

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

yes (note: doesn't mean I wouldn't use Linux)

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

No. It would then be a bad Linux distro.

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

Yes.

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

Yes.

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

For end users, yes.

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

No opinion.

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?[/QUOTE]

Question 3 to linux server admins the world over.

Random_Dude
May 7th, 2011, 11:43 AM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

1 - I'm a user, I wish I knew enough programming to contribute.

2 - Community, Freedom and the fact that people can check for themselves if the program does what it was designed to do and that it doesn't do anything in the background that might be bad for you (monitor what you do, infect your system, etc.).

3 - I still use Windows, only because I can't run everything I want on Linux. If I could run everything I wanted on Linux, I wouldn't use Windows even if it was free.

4 - Again, if I could run everything I wanted on Linux, probably not. I like the way Linux works, it's faster on my machine and it's secure.

5 - I doubt that everything would be the same if Linux was developed by a company with a business approach like Microsoft. You would probably have to pay for it and it wouldn't be open-source. However, I would have to try the software before making a decision.

6 - Probably some, but not enough for it to be profitable for Apple. Unfortunately, not many people are aware of these issues.

7 - I don't know. But I don't see such a move to be profitable to Apple. Their model is very close, and they make a lot of money through it, so I don't see how the GPL could improve their situation.

8 - I have no idea. I don't know that much about software licences and how me software market works.

9 - I can't think of anyone to ask these questions too.


Hope that I helped.

Cheers :cool:

mr_luksom
May 7th, 2011, 02:18 PM
1. end user, volunteer amateur support :)
2. The removal of money from FOSS allows devs and users to act without vested interest, as it is 'their own' software. This then enables the free flow of information leading to better products, as people are fearless to post their source (as it is a hallmark of good code to be copied), and to share their bugs (so people will help them fix it).
3. No. In fact, I would probably pay to avoid it.
4. If it was open source, it would probably become GNU/Linux. At least all of the nasty stuff about windows would be gone (security, viruses, bloating). So yes I would use it, but no it would not be Windows.
5. Provided the owning company kept it FOSS, it could be owned by the CIA for all I care.
6. No, I don't think it would affect the average user. Linux users would use Apple more often if they did this.
7. Yes.
8. Not really.
9. I would love to know what Steve Jobs would think, just so I can irrationally disagree with him for no other because he founded Apple.

Pogeymanz
May 7th, 2011, 03:02 PM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

I do program as part of my job, but I wouldn't consider myself a programmer. I write number crunching programs, not "applications."

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

Freedom. When you use software that is released under a free license, it means that the developer can't take it back if they decide they don't like you.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

No. Cost is not the issue.

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

If it were open source, I'd probably play with it and keep a partition for it on my computer. Let's face it: life is easier for Windows users. Everything is compatible with it.

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

No. I'd use a flavor of BSD. It isn't because it would be owned by one company, but if that company did things that I didn't like, I would have no hesitation using a BSD OS.

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

Not significantly. There are so few people who care about this. In fact, a friend of mine was thoroughly confused when I explained why I didn't like proprietary software. His response was "They aren't taking away your freedom. I do exactly what I want with my computer."

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

Better for who? For them, no. They certainly make more money this way.

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

Probably not. I like both licenses just fine and I don't think it would make a huge difference.

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

I'd be interested in asking some folks at Google.

szymon_g
May 7th, 2011, 05:12 PM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

end user

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

ability to customize it

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

yes, i'm using it even now

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

no

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

yes

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

no

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

no

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

no

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

n/a

eriktheblu
May 7th, 2011, 07:51 PM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc. End user with a little tech support here and there, and programming aspirations.


2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.Usability. Proprietary software tends to embed many artificial restrictions on the functionality in the name of protecting intellectual property


3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it? I use it currently. If it were free, I would probably upgrade the virtualized version I use at home, but that's about it. Cost is not the primary reason that I use Ubuntu.


4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it? Very difficult to answer without seeing these flavors. Maybe, if what they offered suited my needs better than Ubuntu.


5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it? So long as it functioned the same, had the same freedom embedded, I see no reason not to.


6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?No. Apple customers do not seem to be all that interested in that sort of scenario. They want the product to work, and they are willing to pay for it.


7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?No. There might be some minor stability, security, or performance enhancements, but the forking would discredit the main project. Not in the interest of the product.


8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?In some ways. It would have been a better OS, that would be used in fewer situations. Cellular companies are completely opposed to their customers having control over their connected devices.

RiceMonster
May 7th, 2011, 07:55 PM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

"Administration" would be the best way to put it.


2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

Whether it works properly or not.


3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

Yes.


4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

You mean if it started getting way too fragmented like Linux? Maybe not.


5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

I don't know, is it good?


6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

No.


7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

No.


8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

No.

rg4w
May 7th, 2011, 08:00 PM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.
End-user, applications developer, and fanboi. :)

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.
Freedom and viability: FOSS projects allow you to modify them however you like, and because of this the life span of a software is not limited to the whims of the developer.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?
No. While Windows is a relatively expensive consumer OS, for me the price isn't the barrier as much as stability and security. Being inherently multi-user, Unix-like OSes are difficult to beat on both of those fronts. I'd be surprised if Windows doesn't one day toss the old code base and start fresh with something inspired by Unix. AFAIK they're pretty much the last holdout among popular OSes that hasn't. Pro versions of Windows already include shell scripting, so it seems perhaps they're beginning to become aware of their limitations.

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?
No.

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?
No (see #2 above). Free software is copyrighted, but distributable; if it were "owned" by any single entity in the way proprietary products are "owned" then its viability would be limited to the whims of the copyright holder.

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?
No. I think most people just want something that works and don't care about licensing. That is, most. I think the US Army's choice to go with Android for a new field ops platform over iOS was likely driven by availability of the source.

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?
Not for Apple or their shareholders. What Apple sells is consistency; a hundred forked OS Xes would just confuse the user base and the fragmentation would make it difficult for third parties to support. I like having the choices we have in the Linux world, but I don't know that I would necessarily advocate that for all other platforms.

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?
Hard to say, but I'm inclined to believe Apache is a better option for Android.

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?
I'd ask my friends, who are mostly other app devs and their answers would be even longer than mine. :)

jerenept
May 8th, 2011, 04:06 PM
I'm a student in college and for english we have to make a zine. The subject of my zine is Open Source Software, where I will be highlighting the differences between Open and Closed source, as well as Free vs. Commercial licensing, and will also include tips and resources to guide new users on the path to libre software. What I need from all you wonderful people is help with the interview part of the zine.

What's unique about this school is that we happen to have the WORLDS largest collection of zines.. so your answers will live on long after this semester and even long after these forums are archived; they could possibly be looked at by historians many hundreds of years from now.

I have come up with 9 questions on the subject of software licensing. PLEASE feel free to include comments outside of these questions.

Thanks in advance,
-Kent


1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.
Currently, im an end-user, and support, i suppose; I file tons of bugs and help out here @UF. I'm also going to start programming at school (pascal and c++) so programming is a definite possibility.


2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.
Usability. There's a reason I don't use Gentoo; although I am perfectly capable.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it? I'm a student, so windows is practically free for me. And I use it. So, yes.


4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?
No; Windows' strength is the fact that there is only one; RiceMonster's answer is pretty much the same as mine.


5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?
No.

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?
Who cares, really? As long as it is easy to use.

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?
See answer to question (6) above.

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?
No, not at all.

JDShu
May 10th, 2011, 06:48 AM
oo quiz, hooray!

1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

End User, volunteer programmer

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

It is a public good that benefits everybody. No monetary cost. Relatively free from vendor lock-in.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

Not as my main platform, but yes.

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

Yes.

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

No. Not any more than I use Windows today anyway. Which is very little.

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

Given all else remains the same, yes.

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

As a product, yes. Given all else remains the same.

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

As a product, yes. Given all else remains the same.

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

Various software entrepreneurs.

spockofborg
May 10th, 2011, 08:27 AM
For the comments part, what exactly do you mean by Linux in question 5? Linux is the kernel that Linus started developing, and the OS we generally use are the combination of GNU/Linux. Question 5 doesn't make it clear if the kernel and GNU tools remain open-source.

Good question, Oxwivi..

If Linus' had sold his Kernel to Micro$oft, and the GNU Project (and all those routers, set-top boxes, and Android) never got to use it, that would be one thing..
..but if M$ had somehow stopped the GNU Project cold and usurped the software rights, much like they had with DOS, that would be another story altogether.

Right now I'm so tired I'm hallucinating T-800's with Bill Gate's head.. let me get back to you on this...

sunflowermalena
May 10th, 2011, 08:32 AM
In China, we don't really think about software license when we use those softwares. Be honest, most of softwares we are using are cracked. Shameful...:(

spockofborg
May 10th, 2011, 05:18 PM
Good question, Oxwivi..

If Linus' had sold his Kernel to Micro$oft, and the GNU Project (and all those routers, set-top boxes, and Android) never got to use it, that would be one thing..
..but if M$ had somehow stopped the GNU Project cold and usurped the software rights, much like they had with DOS, that would be another story altogether...

Ok, having slept on it I'm a little more clear on what I was thinking when I wrote the original question: In this hypothetical scenario Micro$oft owns Linus' kernel, but GNU would still be free. Clear enough?


In China, we don't really think about software license when we use those softwares. Be honest, most of softwares we are using are cracked. Shameful...:(

That is a shame, as pirating software hurts FOSS more than anything, as you are increasing the usage base of those pirated warez instead of their free alternatives. Take a stand against corrupt capitalist corporations: Choose Freedom!

sydbat
May 10th, 2011, 05:22 PM
Good question, Oxwivi..

If Linus' had sold his Kernel to Micro$oft, and the GNU Project (and all those routers, set-top boxes, and Android) never got to use it, that would be one thing..
..but if M$ had somehow stopped the GNU Project cold and usurped the software rights, much like they had with DOS, that would be another story altogether.

Right now I'm so tired I'm hallucinating T-800's with Bill Gate's head.. let me get back to you on this...


Ok, having slept on it I'm a little more clear on what I was thinking when I wrote the original question: In this hypothetical scenario Micro$oft owns Linus' kernel, but GNU would still be free. Clear enough?



That is a shame, as pirating software hurts FOSS more than anything, as you are increasing the usage base of those pirated warez instead of their free alternatives. Take a stand against corrupt capitalist corporations: Choose Freedom!I'm just curious what Micro$oft and M$ are. Also, why hate Bill Gates so much?

doas777
May 10th, 2011, 05:34 PM
1. what is your involvement with software; i.e. - are you a an enduser, support professional, programmer, etc.

2. What do you feel are the most important aspects of Free Open Source Software.

3. If Microsoft gave Windows away for free, would you use it?

4. If Windows was open source, that is, there were many flavors produced by many groups, like there are many distributions of Linux, would you use it?

5. If Linux was wholly owned by Microsoft (or another big, possibly evil corporation) , instead of the kernel being Linus' and the rest being GNU, would you still use it?

6. Do you think more people would buy an iPod/iPhone/iPad/MacBook/iMac if Apple removed every last proprietary part of those products and let the end user have actual complete control over thier own property?

7. Do you think OS X or iOS would be better off released under GPL instead of being proprietary?

8. Do you think the Android OS would have been better off released under GPLv2 instead of the ASLv2 (Apache Software License)?

9. If you could ask any of the these questions to anyone, who would you ask? What answer(s) would you expect?

1) Programmer/SysAdmin/Support pro
2) Freedom (http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) (see link)
3) yes, but I use and pay for it now. cost of doing business.
4) Yes, but i would feel good about it.
5) No. Linux is not "Owned" by anyone. if it were, it would not IMO be OSS.
6) no. and is an unfair question. they should remove the proprietary-ness, not the component. just release it open.
7) all software would be better off released under a open license.
8) no. the ASL is more business/for-profit friendly, thought I prefer the GPL.
9) ummmm..... Adam Smith (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Adam_Smith)? .... I think he would find OSS horrifying.