[Mageia-dev] Mageia repository sections, licenses, restrictions, firmware etc

Tue Oct 12 23:45:54 CEST 2010

+
+Quote: marc wrote on Tue, 12 October 2010 19:31
+
+> The safest route is to offer FOSS software (they are well known and
+> many 
+> have had their code audited) and leave the "fringe" softs on a repo
+> that 
+> is left to the users' choice as install.
+
+Marc, FOSS has nothing to do with whether a particular software infringes
+on patents in some countries or not, don't confuse the COPYRIGHT license
+with patents issues.
+
+There is plenty of pure FOSS software that is infringing on some patents
+(primarily in the US with their free-for-all software patent policy), in
+fact given the amount of software patents granted in the US I wouldn't be
+surprised if most FOSS software (actually most software, not just FOSS)
+infringes some patent in the US (heck, even MS Office just got caught
+infringing on some patent held by some patent-troll).
+
+This starts from the Linux kernel all the way to apps like OOo, there is
+simply no way to make a distro that is patent-safe according to US laws.
+
+Why do you think Canonical is incorporated in the UK and not in the US?
+
+Why do you think Novell made the patent-protection agreement with
+Microsoft?
+
+The only major commercial Linux distro that is based in US is Redhat and
+that's probably only because at the time they were founded the patents
+issue in the US didn't exist yet (at least not like these days).
+
+We cannot base our distro on the ridiculous patents laws of the US, first
+of all there is no legal reason to do so, and second why should users all
+around the world suffer US patent laws despite they don't apply to them?
+
+Having separate plf repos IS A MAJOR OBSTACLE for new users (and for
+packagers probably too), first of all because most have no idea that these
+exist and then even if they find out you need to consider all those users
+on dialup for whom downloading many megabytes of replacement plf packages
+is a major problem.
+
+So again, I suggest we include all the important codecs and
+drivers/firmware that help the user to have a great out-of-the-box
+experience with Mageia, but we add a question during installation so the
+user can decide if he wants to install them or not.
+
+This should keep everybody happy, I don't see why this couldn't be
+agreeable for you.
+
+-- 
+Mageia ML Forum Gateway: http://mageia.linuxtech.net/forum/
+