____/ Mark Kent on Monday 16 July 2007 12:05 : \____
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> ____/ Mark Kent on Monday 16 July 2007 09:37 : \____
>>
>>> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>>>> ____/ [H]omer on Sunday 15 July 2007 00:17 : \____
>>>>
>>>>> Verily I say unto thee, that Kier spake thusly:
>>>>>> On Sat, 14 Jul 2007 14:05:45 -0700, Tim Smith wrote:
>>>>>>> In article <i8lnm4-tp9.ln1@xxxxxxxxxx>, "[H]omer" <spam@xxxxxxx>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>>> .---- | This is a call for developers who are interested in
>>>>>>>> | pushing the limits of content and code freedom - including
>>>>>>>> | firmware, content, and authoring infrastructure, to join the
>>>>>>>> | team and help identify places where we must separate out pieces
>>>>>>>> | that don't belong in Gobuntu from the standard Ubuntu builds.
>>>>>>>> `----
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> They should start by eliminating Mono, which they still ship:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/gobuntu/daily/current/source/gutsy-src-1.list
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Along with it's tainted dependants, such as Novell's Beagle.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Yeah, who would expect to find free software that follows
>>>>>>> international standards, like Mono, in a free operating system?
>>>>>>> What were they thinking?
>>>>>
>>>>> It's not Free, it's patent encumbered and subject to a dubious RAND
>>>>> clause.
>>>>
>>>> When you use Mono, watch your back.
>>>>
>>>> http://boycottnovell.com/category/mono/
>>>>
>>>> Microsoft could not only turn the table (or throw a chair) on you
>>>> by 'extending', but its lawyers could also go Rambo III on your arse.
>>>> Groklaw has already analysed this issue and it's up on Grokdoc.
>>>
>>> You can be sure that they will. Microsoft need to be seen as the old
>>> male lion, chased away from the pride by younger males, but still highly
>>> dangerous.
>>>
>>> As things get worse for Microsoft, they will do anything in order to
>>> raise revenue. Only the naive would not see this as inevitable.
>>>
>>>>
>>>>>> I don't get the exteme hostility to Mono, at all. For instance, Linux
>>>>>> Format mag is certainly not antagonistic to it, since they've
>>>>>> published several good articles about programming with Mono.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There's room for totally Free software distros like gNewSense, and I
>>>>>> have nothing whatever against them, I think it's fine that the devs
>>>>>> want to do that, and can do that. But why start crapping on Ubuntu?
>>>>>> Not everyone is a Free software purist. Some need/want more
>>>>>> flexibility.
>>>>>
>>>>> This isn't Ubuntu, it's Gobuntu - with the specific goal of being an
>>>>> untainted version of Ubuntu. Presumably there *are* some people who
>>>>> wanted this, otherwise they wouldn't have created this fork in the first
>>>>> place.
>>>>
>>>> I think they just don't have enough manpower to go after and eliminate the
>>>> unwanted bits. gNewSense was the work of only a couple of people. Mark
>>>> invited more people to discuss and develop it. that was last week.
>>>>
>>>
>>> I don't really understand why they're doing this, though - Debian does
>>> exactly this already, and covers a wider range of platforms, too.
>>> Surely it would be better to contribute into the Debian project?
>>
>> I am pretty certain some Debian delivers quite a few binary (or not truly
>> Free) components. I recently read something from a Freetype developer who
>> sort of confirmed this. If Debian was as Free as gNewSense, it would not
>> have worked on many standard PCs.
>>
>
> I don't think Debian does any binary components, and I'm pretty certain
> that anything which doesn't meet the DFSGs is either not included at
> all, or included in the non-free section, depending on what the issues
> are.
>
> It could be things have changed, of course.
I've checked this again, but you might be right. I confused "binary"
with "patent-encumbered" (regardless of the invalidity of patenting graphics
where it's all just matrix maths).
This is one thing I had in mind:
Interview with David Turner of Freetype
,----[ Quote ]
| If the patent owner of hinting gives the Freetype project a free license,
| would you accept it?
|
| David Turner: It really depends on the terms of this "free license".
| Basically if it means the patent can not be freely re-licensed to other
| people, I really don't see why I would find that useful. If you
| absolutely need the bytecode interpreter, you can be patient and wait
| for October 9, 2009, when the patents expire.
|
| [...]
|
| There is no clear answer as to what is best. Personally, I can't stand
| native TrueType hinted fonts anymore, they look too distorted to me,
| even if their contrast is better. My favorite Linux distribution is
| Ubuntu at the moment, and the first thing I do after installing it is
| to wipe the version of FreeType provided with it to get rid of the
| bytecode interpreter :o)
|
| Also, I still don't understand why Debian and Ubuntu keep
| distributing patent-infringing code in FreeType, while they keep
| MP3 and DVD playback out of their normal installs. I'm not even
| sure it's DFSG compliant...
`----
http://www.osnews.com/story.php/18166/Interview-with-David-Turner-of-Freetype/
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | Useless fact: Women blink twice as much as men
http://Schestowitz.com | Open Prospects | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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