On Thu, 15 Jun 2006 23:10:17 -0700 "jdow" <jdow@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > It does not seem to stop most open source users. The discussion that > Gene started regarding playing WMV files is a case in point. I believe > anything which plays these files on Linux is illegal to use in the US > even if the reverse engineering was legal where it was done. It may be so. But it doesn't necessarily follow that the best solution is to change Linux. As an aside, it should be entirely possible for Microsoft to produce a proprietary Windows Media Player to run on Linux. Much the same as Oracle or Lotus Notes, or other vendors do. The fact that they don't has much more to do with market share and other competitive factors than it does about the GPL license. > GPL is good until it's your ox getting gored. It seems Sean may be > one of the more honest fellows about it. I must give him credit for > that much. He puts his actions where his mouth is. I still don't > agree with his apparent politics. Heh, well the GPL is what it is. It may not be the easiest system to integrate fully into our economy, but there is no denying its success at encouraging the development of useful software. It is quite attractive to many developers, companies, and users. Since we're all here chatting on this particular list it seems we all benefit from it too. Cheers, Sean
