From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S261861AbTD2VaR (ORCPT ); Tue, 29 Apr 2003 17:30:17 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S261864AbTD2VaR (ORCPT ); Tue, 29 Apr 2003 17:30:17 -0400 Received: from hermine.idb.hist.no ([158.38.50.15]:54020 "HELO hermine.idb.hist.no") by vger.kernel.org with SMTP id S261861AbTD2VaQ (ORCPT ); Tue, 29 Apr 2003 17:30:16 -0400 Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 23:45:05 +0200 To: Scott Robert Ladd Cc: Linux Kernel Mailing List Subject: Re: Why DRM exists [was Re: Flame Linus to a crisp!] Message-ID: <20030429214505.GA13088@hh.idb.hist.no> References: <3EAEAB10.5060801@coyotegulch.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <3EAEAB10.5060801@coyotegulch.com> User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.3i From: Helge Hafting Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Tue, Apr 29, 2003 at 12:40:48PM -0400, Scott Robert Ladd wrote: [...] > The coherency you seek lies in seeing a common thread of wanting > something for nothing. Free software developers often clone products > developed by commercial companies; this is taking a free ride (something > for nothing) on the R&D budget of the corporation. The effort that goes > into designing quality software isn't just coding -- it's also research, > design, focus groups, testing, and QA. I think it is quite reasonable > for commercial entities to protect their investment in time, effort, and > personnel. > Except that this isn't "something for nothing". The free clone is the price paid - it is available for everybody, including that company. Companies are free to use free linux distributions, and get a lot that way. Helge Hafting