Linux/GNU project question

Depends on the type of software. Training and support contracts are popular amongst enterprise-level software. Donations for smaller projects. Some people just code for fun too.

So what your saying is.. They make their money off Support of their products.. Not selling it?

The weird thing is.. Why do stores sell Redhat, Debian and Ubuntu? if it's suppose to be free ?

You'll have to read those actual licenses, but I believe they typically allow sales as long as free copies are available. Some people just like to have the physical media, manuals, etc.

DerekAustin26 wrote: »

So what your saying is.. They make their money off Support of their products.. Not selling it?

The weird thing is.. Why do stores sell Redhat, Debian and Ubuntu? if it's suppose to be free ?

When you are purchasing the software at a store you are not purchasing the license to the software. You are getting the media, a basic manual, and usually one year of basic support. You also get the warm fuzzies of helping to support your favorit distro by sending them some $$$.

I just cant make any sense out of that... That is directly violating the Free & Open Source (F/OSS) defitinitions published by Michael Tiemann. Also Richard Stallman who originated the Free Software movement for Linux.

Bruce Perens* not Michael Tiemann- excuse me

There is a GNU General Public License that states "you can distribute and share the OS and make sure it is free for all users." Directly from the License itself.

So where do these other Linux based OS's like Redhat, Debian, and Ubuntu get off on selling theres?

You can get all of those for free (Redhat is a bit, tricky, but the people at CentOS take care of that for you).

How does that quote imply that they can't also sell a boxed copy if they want to? Are they supposed to just eat the costs of printing manuals, pressing media, etc.?

DerekAustin26 wrote: »

There is a GNU General Public License that states "you can distribute and share the OS and make sure it is free for all users." Directly from the License itself.

So where do these other Linux based OS's like Redhat, Debian, and Ubuntu get off on selling theres?

Like Dynamic and I said, they are not selling you the license. They are selling you the media, the printed manual, and a basic support agreement. When you download the freely available ISOs you get none of those. People who might want to start using Linux in their enterprise might feel better about the venture if the get support. So the basic support agreement is a big deal for that. GPL does not prohibit you from including the software in a sale, it prohibits you from ONLY selling the software. You MUST provide a freely available version and each and every distro you named clearly provides such a version.

kalebksp

DerekAustin26 wrote: »

"you can distribute and share the OS and make sure it is free for all users." Directly from the License itself.

Would you mind showing me where any version of the GPL says that?

Here's an actual quote from the GPL v2: "You may charge a fee for the physical act of transferring a copy, and you may at your option offer warranty protection in exchange for a fee." As you can see the GPL explicitly allows one to charge a fee for the distribution of GPL licensed software.

DerekAustin26 wrote: »

Bruce Perens* not Michael Tiemann- excuse me

I believe you need to re-read his definition of OpenSource....
"Everyone who wants to is allowed to sell an Open Source program, so prices will be low and development to reach new markets will be rapid."

This is taken directly from Perens.com
The Open Source Definition

RobertKaucher wrote: »

Like Dynamic and I said, they are not selling you the license. They are selling you the media, the printed manual, and a basic support agreement. When you download the freely available ISOs you get none of those. People who might want to start using Linux in their enterprise might feel better about the venture if the get support. So the basic support agreement is a big deal for that. GPL does not prohibit you from including the software in a sale, it prohibits you from ONLY selling the software. You MUST provide a freely available version and each and every distro you named clearly provides such a version.

So okay, they can sell it, but as long as they also provide a free version is what your saying? The downloadable ones dont include the support agreement and printed manual right?

I dont know what "ISO's" are.

They're CD/DVD images you can burn to disc or load up in virtualization software.

I think "open source" replaced "free software" I dont think you can just download free versions of Redhat, Suse, Debian, or Ubuntu.

Why? Because at first Venture Capitalists were turning down Larry Augustin (CEO of VA Linux Systems) because of the words "free software"

I think the only thing that's free is just Linux, not the revised commercialized versions like Redhat, Suse, Debian or Ubuntu.

What are you talking about? You can go to all their websites and download them (CentOS for RedHat).

sidsanders

redhat backs this one: Fedora Project
novell/suse free distro: Index of /

or go the bsd route!!!
The FreeBSD Project
OpenBSD
The NetBSD Project
DragonFlyBSD: DragonFly BSD