GPLv3 Released 278
A GNU Dawn writes "The GPL v3 has just been released. Among other things, the released version grandfathers in the Novell deal so that Microsoft's SLES coupons will undermine their patent threats, replaces references to the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act with more specific language, and clarifies that using BitTorrent to convey a GPLed work is not a breach of the license (it might be one, technically, in GPLv2). The GPL FAQ has been updated to cover the new changes." Commentary is available over at Linux.com (which is owned, along with Slashdot, by Sourceforge).
Irony - I love it (Score:4, Interesting)
An effective way to deal with predators is to taste terrible.
I think that says it all.
To all those complainers (Score:1, Interesting)
tivoisation (Score:5, Interesting)
The irritating part is that the FSF has the business products exception, where Tivoisation is okay for hardware sold for business use. Stallman et. al. recognize that in some cases it's ultimately beneficial to the user to be unable to run modified software (e.g. a business that has to have accountability, or a console gamer who wants to know that no one is running a hacked game in multiplayer), but they think they can somehow figure out where that line is for everyone.
Apache Licence (Score:2, Interesting)
OpenSolaris (Score:4, Interesting)
If so, and the copyright holders for the parts of the Linux kernel of use to Sun are willing to license their code under GPLv3 as well, we may begin to see some major impacts on the open source OS landscape.
Fingers crossed.
Make it an ideology (Score:3, Interesting)
"The educational aspect of GPLv3 has, in my opinion, been the greatest success," he says.
I agree. The open source movement has always wanted a focal point, a figure like Mao or Roosevelt, who can champion its ideal and point out its obvious implications. It's slightly anarchistic. It's anti-ownership. It's Darwinistic (let the best code win). All that is now clear, and many people agree.
The real question to me, as an observer of "current history," is whether people will take this to logical conclusions outside the world of the net. Will the Wal-Marts burn, and Paris Hilton be forced to do her own laundry? Will the morons of the world be forced to dwell in antartica? Or will this be a pithy statement like those of forgotten rock stars, "changing the world" inside a few minds separated by vast spaces of time, distance, economic instability and doubt?
Re:tivoisation (Score:5, Interesting)
And yet the FSF went to great lengths to permit it in some cases (the business use exception), recognizing that Tivoisation isn't a restriction on fundamental freedom, and in fact in many cases is beneficial to the user. That's why they have the convoluted definition of "consumer device" so that they can distinguish between consumer and business products - because lots of businesses have an interest in devices that will only run signed code. And I gave an example of where the consumer wants the same thing - games, where the user wants to know that everyone is running the same version in multiplayer. In general, it's often good for networked devices (other than general-purpose computers) to only run signed code, because it makes it significantly easier to guarantee network stability. So even if we accept that there are cases where Tivoisation is bad, and that the FSF ought to try to prevent them, we're left with the fact that it can only do so with a broad brush, eliminating a lot of good uses along with a lot of bad ones. They're taking away as much freedom for the user (freedom to use GPLv3 on their trusted platform while maintaining that trust) as they're giving.
Time for Sun to Shine (Score:5, Interesting)
Everybody please join me in exhorting Jonathan to take the bungee jump.
Re:tivoisation (Score:5, Interesting)
Tivoisation prevents me from patching it. It prevents me from adding features. It prevents me from fixing bugs.
It's my software. I want to update it, and the only thing preventing that is licensing. That and a hardware based security system enforcing the licensing. When I wrote the software originally, I did not intend for products to be developed using my software that I could not update. In fact, I licensed my software in order to prevent that kind of a thing. Unfortunately, the PDA manufacturer found a loophole that stuck to the letter of my license, but not the spirit of it.
This is pretty much what Tivo did. The anti-Tivoisation language in the new GPL effectively closes that loophole.
Now, if Tivo wants to do the same thing in the future, they can either utilize software who's authors don't mind (and it's widely available for what Tivo wants to do), or they can contact the original author team for alternative licensing. In the case of large scale community projects where no such licensing option exists, they can either stick to the license or they can develop their own similar project in-house.
All the FSF is doing is ensuring that software licensees abide by the spirit of what the original authors intended. They recognized that business enterprises were taking advantage by using loopholes and they've attacked that problem - pretty effectively.
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I can't think of a single instance where Tivo actually contributed code back to the community as you state.
Regardless, they are not without free options. All they need to do is shift to BSD licensed products - which they should have done in the first place given their long term strategy.
I updated to version 3 today (Score:4, Interesting)
I did not originally use the "or later version" verbage, and I decided not to this time, not that it matters: I write what could best be called "small market" OS projects
A bit off topic, but it continues to frustrate me that my customers don't take more advantage of the GPL. I have been an independent consultant for a decade, and I almost never get customers to support open source development. I went so far as to offer a 30% discount for work on GPLed projects - no bites, but lots of offers to work on proprietary systems. My take is that there is too much emphasis on protecting intellectual property and not enough on reducing costs and improving quality by building on top of existing GPLed projects. From my experience, and a bit of opinion thrown in: most value in intellectual property is in unique data sources and human knowledge. I would bet that most companies would do better on financial and quality metrics by having a few proprietary systems for specific data processing, application of unique algorithms, etc. - and use GPL (or Apache, BSD, etc.) for as much infrastructure software as possible.
Re:tivoisation (Score:4, Interesting)
Surely having code signed by the owner achieves the same results in this case as having code signed by the vendor, assuming that the owner is not stupid enough to keep the private key for the signing process on the box which they are requiring to run signed code?
I challenge you to provide me with one example of a case where using the user's key to sign the code running on their box is inferior to the same box running the same software signed by a vendor key which the user does not have access to.
Re:tivoisation (Score:2, Interesting)
The other irritating part is that this is discriminatory licensing, and I therefore don't see how it can properly be considered "Free".
Re:OpenSolaris (Score:3, Interesting)
If Solaris moves to GPLv3 while Linux is stuck with v2, Debian might adopt the Solaris kernel as their main kernel (after a long transition process), since it is more in line with their principles of creating a pure GNU system. And then, what will happen to the Debian derived systems (such as Ubuntu)? If Sun plays their cards right, they can effectively shift a big chunk of the Linux world to Solaris.
Re:Time for Sun to Shine (Score:3, Interesting)
In terms of Solaris, while it might be a great operating system, for most use cases it doesn't really offer much incentive to switch away from Linux or one of the various BSDs. The main reason people are excited about it possibly being released under the GPLv3, is because Linus has publicly stated that if that happens he might attempt to push the Linux kernel to the GPLv3. This is simply because people want to see ZFS and dtrace in Linux. From my experience, most people don't seem to care what happens on the Solaris side of the fence.
The main reason I write this is because I know a lot of Sun supporters that seem to think that if Solaris and Java are released under GPLv3 that there will be a significant adoption of the two technologies. I just don't see it happening. It didn't happen when they were released under other open source licenses and I can't see it happening if they're released under the GPLv3. What exactly does the GPLv3 offer that makes people think it will be any different?
Re:tivoisation (Score:3, Interesting)
Which to my mind makes whether or not you're allowed to restrict the user to running vendor-signed game binaries a rather moot point...
Slashdot's told me to "Slow down, cowboy!" so while waiting for the timer to run out I'll write this rather pointless line at the end of my post.
Re:Why is this under "Linux" (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:OpenSolaris (Score:3, Interesting)
Just because the license text is produced by the same organization, and some other code is using some other license which permits relicensing to it, doesn't make GPLv2-only code related to GPLv3 any more than any other license. Having the same "intent" is a concept with no legal weight. Nor can Torvalds make any kind of legally binding "objection period". When someone specificly removed "and later versions" from their license text, you can't assume that silence now is permission to relicense.
A certain number of people (many?) would not object or do anything at all, but they would have the right to sue Linus and every Linux distro for copyright infringement any time in the next decades, not only cease and desist letters but also for damages, and they'd be right. Why? Because they might want money, because they're asshats, because they got bought out by MS, because they're peeveed' that you relicensed without permission, because they don't like the license, take your pick. Also copyright doesn't expire if not enforced for a while, so if you thought this was anything like not enforcing a patent when someone makes public claims to use it, you're wrong.
In short, to me it sounds like a very dangerous plan to me, but IANAL so I wouldn't know. Then again I think neither are you, but maybe you've gotten better legal advice than my understanding...
Re:MS SLES Coupons (Score:3, Interesting)
[...]
Given that Microsoft isn't screaming bloody murder about this, I think they must not see it as a big risk, and that to me isn't a good thing.
So, this basically seems like a 'fight fire with fire' tactic on the FSF's part. If it makes Microsoft even more wary about suing Linux vendors, then why not, I guess (although I don't think Microsoft would have sued them anyhow).
Re:Yeah, but (Score:2, Interesting)
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