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Amoral tech strikes again. Good luck with that; Russia isn't interested in software freedom, they're just not interested in something from outside Russia they

by jarcane 11y ago

Amoral tech strikes again. Good luck with that; Russia isn't interested in software freedom, they're just not interested in something from outside Russia they can't control. EDIT: A friend informs me that the head of the project is himself Russian, and already works largely under government funding. So in retrospect, less "amoral tech nerds take money from wherever they can get it" and more "some Russian bureaucrats want their own Red Star OS".

userulluipeste 11y ago
Let's hope it'll transcend out of its current amoral tech state! It has the potential to become the building block of choice for many use-cases where other solutions are too expensive (in terms of required efforts).
bad_user 11y ago
That's an odd statement to make, since freedom is indistinguishable from having control.
pgeorgi 11y ago
> Russia isn't interested in software freedom, they're just not interested in something from outside Russia they can't control Which is exactly what the first paragraph states: "are pursuing measures to rid vendor lock-in of strategically important software" Why should Russia (or any organization, from 1 person up to nations) prefer vendor lock-in over something that they can control?
- jarcane 11y ago
  The distinction is whether it's a question of freeing it for everyone's control, or merely trading foreign control for their own. Russia doesn't want GNU, they just want a Russian Microsoft that's in Putin's pocket like everything else. Take a look at what's happened to VKontakte some time.
  - pgeorgi 11y ago
    VKontakte can't be easily forked, while ReactOS is GPL. Of course the Russian government wants to be able to control their systems, and any positive effects for others are at best some nice PR. How does that detract any value from ReactOS (or Linux, which is their "other" desktop and server OS)? One of the principles of Open Source (compared to Free Software) is the idea that people and organizations work in a project where every contributor works in their self-interest. Why is this suddenly a bad thing?
Pi_User5 11y ago
ReactOS is free and open source and is released under the GPL license.
EGreg 11y ago
Isn't software freedom about someone from outside not controlling your stuff?

by jarcane 11y ago

userulluipeste 11y ago

Let's hope it'll transcend out of its current amoral tech state! It has the potential to become the building block of choice for many use-cases where other solutions are too expensive (in terms of required efforts).

bad_user 11y ago

That's an odd statement to make, since freedom is indistinguishable from having control.

pgeorgi 11y ago

> Russia isn't interested in software freedom, they're just not interested in something from outside Russia they can't control Which is exactly what the first paragraph states: "are pursuing measures to rid vendor lock-in of strategically important software" Why should Russia (or any organization, from 1 person up to nations) prefer vendor lock-in over something that they can control?

jarcane 11y ago
The distinction is whether it's a question of freeing it for everyone's control, or merely trading foreign control for their own. Russia doesn't want GNU, they just want a Russian Microsoft that's in Putin's pocket like everything else. Take a look at what's happened to VKontakte some time.
- pgeorgi 11y ago
  VKontakte can't be easily forked, while ReactOS is GPL. Of course the Russian government wants to be able to control their systems, and any positive effects for others are at best some nice PR. How does that detract any value from ReactOS (or Linux, which is their "other" desktop and server OS)? One of the principles of Open Source (compared to Free Software) is the idea that people and organizations work in a project where every contributor works in their self-interest. Why is this suddenly a bad thing?

Pi_User5 11y ago

ReactOS is free and open source and is released under the GPL license.

EGreg 11y ago

Isn't software freedom about someone from outside not controlling your stuff?