Re:Richard Stallman on proprietary software, SaaS and open s...
by bmj on Tuesday August 06, 2013 @03:20PM
(#6168585)
His concerns are about law and policies constraining freedom, not about building things from scratch. You need not write your own compiler to be consistent with the principles he advocates - Stallman would say you're fine using gcc, because it is legally open for the "four freedoms".
Yes, that's right. But what about, say, an electric drill with proprietary schematics? While I may be free to modify the drill as I see fit, it wasn't necessary built for that purpose. Additionally, I can't modify the drill a little bit, and then start producing them myself (I suspect the original manufacturer might have something to say about that).
Perhaps I'm splitting hairs a bit, or thinking too deeply about it, but the topic of tools interests me.
Yes, that's right. But what about, say, an electric drill with proprietary schematics? While I may be free to modify the drill as I see fit, it wasn't necessary built for that purpose. Additionally, I can't modify the drill a little bit, and then start producing them myself (I suspect the original manufacturer might have something to say about that).
Perhaps I'm splitting hairs a bit, or thinking too deeply about it, but the topic of tools interests me.