Chris,
I'm not sure what license you're referring to, but if there is no cost for the software, and it's open source under a license like the GPL, I don't understand how you can see there is no freedom involved. My distro du jour is PCLinuxOS, which is free, and I can alter the source code if I want to (which I don't!). That feels pretty free to me, both free as in freedom and free as in beer.
Steve
=====================================
Stephen Paling
Assistant Professor
School of Library and Information Studies
4251 Helen C. White Hall
600 N. Park St.
Madison, WI 53706-1403
Phone: (608) 263-2944
Fax: (608) 263-4849
paling_at_wisc.edu
----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Cormack <chris_at_BIGBALLOFWAX.CO.NZ>
Date: Monday, June 28, 2010 10:13 pm
Subject: Re: [NGC4LIB] Copernicus, Cataloging, and the Chairs on the Titanic, Part 2
To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
> On 29 June 2010 15:04, Stephen Paling <paling_at_wisc.edu> wrote:
> > John,
> >
> > I've mentioned specific technologies and techniques. I use FOSS, and
> I teach my students to do Web design and metadata development with it.
> I advise a student group that has done presentations on FOSS, and
> maintains a Linux box for students to test drive. One of my students
> won an award for an Ubuntu/Koha project. I feel comfortable saying
> that I'm past the idealism phase. What specific recommendations do you
> have?
> >
> > Just out of curiosity, what operating system and application
> suite(-s) do you use? Are they non-commercial?
> >
> Just a nitpick, at no one in particular, but the opposite of FOSS is
> not commercial it is proprietary. There is nothing inherently non
> commercial about FOSS, I've been being paid to write it for 12 years
> now, just like there can be non commercial proprietary software. Free
> in cost != Freedom.
>
> Chris
Received on Mon Jun 28 2010 - 23:26:53 EDT