Subject: Re: [linux-audio-user] License free Linux ??
From: Rob (lau_AT_kudla.org)
Date: Fri Dec 05 2003 - 06:17:00 EET
On Thursday 04 December 2003 15:54, Patrick Shirkey wrote:
> Have you seen what's happening to the audacity project?
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2572777204&
>category=15199
> It's got to the point where they need legal help. The guy is
> making a few false statements like he has community support
> and is giving money back to the developers.
I dunno, it's a tricky thing. If the guy were selling Audacity
CD's labeled as such on ebay, people would be calling for him to
be sued over trademark violations. The guy sells it under a
different name and people call for him to be sued under some
kind of misrepresentation thing. I think it's obnoxious that he
doesn't provide any kind of link back to the Audacity site (he
at least mentions Gimp and Openoffice by name) but until someone
actually ponies up for one of those CD's we won't know whether
he's actually violating the GPL.
Or, for that matter, someone else's license, since he mentions
he's including other software and files on the disc. In that
way it strikes me as being just like all those shovelware
CD-ROMs in the early 90's that listed off all the shareware they
included without mentioning them by name. Only by running the
programs (and doing help about, if it didn't have a nag screen
or something) did you ever find out who wrote them.
Anyway, his site, http://www.luxuriousity.com (I'd say that was
misspelled if it weren't a made-up word to begin with), is
hilarious, especially the overuse of stock clip art. I think
the best response to something like this is to provide a cheaper
competitive item on ebay whose proceeds really do benefit the
developers. Maybe start with the GnuWin II disc? (Note that
he's marketing it to Windows users primarily, not Linux users,
so going on ebay with a CD full of Linux software is really not
going to do anyone any good except in the sense that it might
promote the use of Linux a little.)
Rob
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