Mandrake and the commercial license

[Simo Sorce]

They are not restricting GNU/Linux or any other GPLed program, they are
restricting only the packages on which they are owners.

So thi license apply to all pieces of software they made to complete the
distribution: installer, management tools, ecc..

You can still do whatever the license say for all the free software
packages in the distribution, but not with the software made as
MandraleSoft.

As this software is needed to proprerly run the distribution it becomes
impossible to replicate the distribution as a whole and as consequence
install it on different computers.

It's the same thing SuSe (and now UnitedLinux) do with the Yast
installer. The distribution becomes unusable/uninstallable without it.
So if it's use is limited (and it is), you cannot replicate the
distribution. (tough you are always free to take and distribute any
package that is free software.

Simo.

On Tue, 2002-12-17 at 14:43, Jan Wildeboer wrote:
> Can Mandrake really do this?
> 
> http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/mnf/license
> 
> According to my source
> 
> http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/anw-17.12.02-000/
> 
> they say that owners of the commercial license are not bound by the 
> GNU/GPL anymore. They can change the sources and are not forced to make 
> the sources available.
> 
> How is this possible with GNU/Linux?
> 
> Jan Wildeboer
> 
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-- 
Simo Sorce - simo.sorce at xsec.it
Xsec s.r.l.
via Durando 10 Ed. G - 20158 - Milano
tel. +39 02 2399 7130 - fax: +39 02 700 442 399
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