[nylug-talk] Linspire

[Ron Guerin]

Sunny Dubey wrote:
> On Thursday 14 June 2007 04:04:22 pm jh wrote:
>> I think that we're about to see a big fork of what is currently known as
>> Linux, especially if some of the new MS licensees are truly locked out
>> of GPL3 stuffs.
> 
> I wouldn't be too sure of that.
> 
> The effort in maintaining a "pre-GPL3 fork" would probably rid companies many 
> of the financial advantages of using Linux in the first place.  Lets just 
> hope that these annoying companies move to BSD.

IAWTC.  If you look at who these new "partners" are, and exclude LG,
who's more of a user than a producer, then it's Novell, and two distros
that really don't matter.  It's predictable that unloved and desperate
distro makers would be the ones hoping that a Microsoft endorsement will
save them from oblivion.  Right now, the burden of the fork would fall
squarely on Novell's shoulders.

Assume though that some other distros that produce a meaningful amount
of code do GPL3-noncompliant deals, and that there's enough of them to
divide the work among to make it not an unbearable burden.  They're
still going to be the black sheep of the Linux world. They'll be the
ones that are seen to be problematic.  They'll be the ones unable to
hire the people they want to hire.  They'll be the ones blamed if things
go like the Unix Wars went.  And if it does, then it'll all have been
worth it for Microsoft, but I don't see that happening.  If a few dozen
distros with a few dozen users each all do deals with Microsoft that
finally end their existence, I think we're all better off for it because
we passed the point where more was better long ago.  As for Novell, I
think this deal has already lost most of its appeal, and when the
conditions are ideal, they'll first end the deal with Microsoft, and
then be looking for a way back into everyone else's good graces.

- Ron