Re: Dual-Licensing Linux Kernel with GPL V2 and GPL V3

[Alan Cox <alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk>]

> > You've made an important mistake. You said "their system". Now its "our
> > code" and "whoever bought the units' hardware" so it isn't their anything.
> 
> Yes, the hardware belongs to the user, and the software belongs to the Linux 
> community.   However I think I wasn't 100% clear, I also mean keeping companies 
> networks and content secured.  Credit card companies insuring the software 
> hasn't been modified to skim cards (not that it's the only way to skim a card), 

If credit card companies are doing this they are failing badly and it
clearly isn't working. Also lets be clear about this - I don't need any
credit card company network access to skim older cards, and the newer
ones have been broken by various non software schemes.

>   or Tivo making sure that their content providers are protected.  Lets look at 
> the credit card example.  Sure the user could modify the system and boot their 
> own kernel, but it doesn't have to play nice with Mastercard's network anymore. 
>   Or better yet, would actually report that a certain business's card reader had 
> been tampered with.

That to me is a fair comment. I should IMHO be able to load my code and
my keys on my Tivo. And Walt Disney in return probably should be quite
free not to trust my keys. You need some fairly strong competition law
enforcement to make all that work right in the marketplace but as a
philosophical basis it seems fine. In practice it is likely to lead to
serious monopoly abuse problems and all sorts of ugly tying of goods that
you don't want in a free market. Given the completely ineffectual way the
US enforces its anti-monopoly law, and the slowness of the EU at it the
results might well be bad - but for other reasons.

Alan


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