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When I was working for the US government we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware," which RHEL wasn't because we payed for it. But it was cheaper and ea

When I was working for the US government we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware," which RHEL wasn't because we payed for it. But it was cheaper and easier to do most of our development on CentOS systems and because the software was the same we weren't worried about compatibility issues.

mistrial9 4y ago
> we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware" I am in the USA but this is new to me.. can you say more or better, links? regarding science applications, specifically...
- Symmetry 4y ago
  This was when I was at a FFRDC doing work for the DoD, the rules might be different elsewhere but I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same either.
- jl6 4y ago
  I’ve worked at orgs where the problem with freeware wasn’t the lack of cost, but the lack of support/indemnity/assurance and the lack of a contract to establish a legal framework for the dependency.
  - mistrial9 4y ago
    ok- so if I understand those terms, roughly(?): support --> contact system for humans to reach other humans with bugs or questions indemnity --> a legal statement by the vendor that the client is not responsible for long term liability for patents or legal challenges assurance --> a legal statement that the vendor will take responsibility if the product is not what it appears to be, or is missing parts that are required to fit a purpose establish a legal framework --> define the copyrights and governing law for rights, responsibilities and disputes between the vendor, their suppliers, the customer and their agents
    - jl6 4y ago
      Spot on. The kind of features that accountable execs care a lot about. The engineer’s conception of companies like IBM and SAP and Oracle is that they sell terrible clunky software, but a substantial part of the value comes in the CYA that the above brings. The users are rarely the real customer.
      - CaliforniaKarl 4y ago
        For a concrete example, have a look at SQLite. SQLite is Public Domain, but it's used virtually everywhere, from phones to airplanes (https://www.sqlite.org/famous.html https://www.sqlite.org/famous.html). Not all companies are going to trust that something is actually public domain. So, you can get a "Warranty of Title" for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/copyright.html https://sqlite.org/copyright.html And those companies might not be satisfied with "community support". So, you can get paid support for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/prosupport.html https://sqlite.org/prosupport.html

mistrial9 4y ago

> we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware" I am in the USA but this is new to me.. can you say more or better, links? regarding science applications, specifically...

Symmetry 4y ago
This was when I was at a FFRDC doing work for the DoD, the rules might be different elsewhere but I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same either.
jl6 4y ago
I’ve worked at orgs where the problem with freeware wasn’t the lack of cost, but the lack of support/indemnity/assurance and the lack of a contract to establish a legal framework for the dependency.
- mistrial9 4y ago
  ok- so if I understand those terms, roughly(?): support --> contact system for humans to reach other humans with bugs or questions indemnity --> a legal statement by the vendor that the client is not responsible for long term liability for patents or legal challenges assurance --> a legal statement that the vendor will take responsibility if the product is not what it appears to be, or is missing parts that are required to fit a purpose establish a legal framework --> define the copyrights and governing law for rights, responsibilities and disputes between the vendor, their suppliers, the customer and their agents
  - jl6 4y ago
    Spot on. The kind of features that accountable execs care a lot about. The engineer’s conception of companies like IBM and SAP and Oracle is that they sell terrible clunky software, but a substantial part of the value comes in the CYA that the above brings. The users are rarely the real customer.
    - CaliforniaKarl 4y ago
      For a concrete example, have a look at SQLite. SQLite is Public Domain, but it's used virtually everywhere, from phones to airplanes (https://www.sqlite.org/famous.html https://www.sqlite.org/famous.html). Not all companies are going to trust that something is actually public domain. So, you can get a "Warranty of Title" for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/copyright.html https://sqlite.org/copyright.html And those companies might not be satisfied with "community support". So, you can get paid support for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/prosupport.html https://sqlite.org/prosupport.html