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To the point: I understand. That sounds OK. Besides the point: Don't forget the "GNU" in GNU/Linux. It came first. It is bigger. It made Linux (the kernel) pos
by loup-vaillant 17y ago
To the point: I understand. That sounds OK.
Besides the point: Don't forget the "GNU" in GNU/Linux. It came first. It is bigger. It made Linux (the kernel) possible, by doing the rest of the work. So, if you use Linux, remember that it comes with GNU.
PS: Apache doesn't use the GPL, by the way
- tptacek 17y agoYou're obviously right about Apache (but then, why did you bring it up?). But I disagree strongly about the "GNU/Linux" thing. Linux would have happened either way. I installed 386bsd off approximately seventeen thousand floppy disks when I was young, and I don't recall that being a GPL'd userland.
- prodigal_erik 17y agoAlmost all the work during the Unix Wars was wasted, entombed in proprietary forks. It's no coincidence that they were all quickly surpassed by the first kernel whose license makes it mostly immune to that problem. Without the GPL, Linux would have happened just as slowly as the BSDs, and getting where we are would have taken many years (decades?) longer--and what's most appalling, most users would not be allowed to understand or improve their tools.