[Mageia-dev] free software purity question

Thu Jul 19 18:38:24 CEST 2012

On 07/19/2012 11:48 AM, Johnny A. Solbu wrote:
+> I am not talking about the hardware. If I want to change the hardware 
+> I have to make something myself, or more realistically, replace it.
+...
+> That's where the difference of opinion is. I have the same opinion on 
+> this as Stallman and FSF have.
+
+Well, three cheers for you, but I was discussing the issue on its own 
+merits, and not Stallman's or FSF's agenda.
+
+The difference of opinion is simply whether "hardware" or "software" has 
+anything to do with the issue any more.  My point is that I could make a 
+perfectly good argument for the position that if it can be programmed, I 
+want to be able to program it, and if I can't, then it's not free and open.
+
+That was pretty much the original thrust of the Free Software movement, 
+except that back then the only things that were viewed as "programmable" 
+were computer systems.  That has changed drastically, and it no longer 
+makes any sense to draw arbitrary distinctions between hardware and 
+software, especially if the basis of the distinction is how far "into 
+your face" the existence of closed software gets.
+
+If you use a computer of any sort, you are at some point and at some 
+level using closed proprietary software whether you like it or not. 
+That's always been true, just not as obvious as it is today.  And that's 
+why drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and trying to view the issue 
+as black and white doesn't make sense.  It is, and always has been, 
+shades of grey.
+
+In our case, the particular greyscale balances finer feelings about free 
+software against the desire to be able to accomplish certain goals, 
+whether the goal is to get 3D video, be able to use 
+commercially-produced hard disks, or even just use a computer to do 
+*anything* at all.  At some point, we all cave and walk away from the 
+ideals.
+
+BTW, my last post was directed at the thread in general, not you 
+specifically.  Please don't think that I was singling out "your" 
+particular line in the sand.  My point is that *any* line in the sand is 
+equally meaningless.  And, as should be obvious at this point, I wasn't 
+"confusing" hardware and software, I was deliberately erasing the 
+distinction between them.
+
+