7 ms·
By enforcing user-hostile policies, Apple has aligned themselves as an enemy of the GPL, even if they want to pretend they are still cozy with open source.
by technomancy 16y ago
By enforcing user-hostile policies, Apple has aligned themselves as an enemy of the GPL, even if they want to pretend they are still cozy with open source.
- maxharris 16y agoThe GPL (especially v3) is user-hostile because it comes between developers and their customers. When my mom uses her computer, she doesn't give one lick about the source code behind her word processor. She's more than happy to trade a little bit of money for a product that just works, and is easy for her to use. Fulfilling these goals while taking advantage of the latest technology takes money, so she happily pays. She has no interest in the "freedoms" offered by the GPL - she just wants to get her work done and get on with her life. I don't think my mom is less of a person (morally or otherwise) for being this way. We're not fools because we freely choose to pay a little bit of money for a lot more convenience in our lives. Nor are we trading any freedom^ - if we were to someday not like the terms we agree to today, we're always free to buy or use something else in the future. ^This is something that Stallman (and a lot of other people get wrong). The concept of freedom only applies to individuals, not to groups. Individuals have the right to assemble into groups, but groups do not have any special rights aside from the aggregate of the individual rights of its members. By using regular software that we freely pay for, my mom and I are not harming anyone. Stallman claims that we are!
- piguy314 16y agoInnovation is a positive externality of commerce. Consumers, like your mother, will often choose to buy software which functions well but stifles innovation. GPL exists precisely to correct for this externality.