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UnitedLinux might not be very GPL-friendly (NewsForge)

[Posted September 19, 2002 by dave]

NewsForge has an article about the UnitedLinux closed-beta NDA's compatibility with the GPL. "Is UnitedLinux down with the idea behind software libre, or are they just trying to become a Red Hat killer and Linux oligopoly in order to make some fast bucks?"

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turning worms?

Posted Sep 19, 2002 14:21 UTC (Thu) by havoc (guest, #2261) [Link]

I've been a big fan of SuSE for years, so United Linux by extension. I hope that the decission makers realize that I, and thousands of others, will turn our backs on any distributor who wantanly violates the GPL. I can always learn to like Mandrake, or join the Debian crowd. I use SuSE becuase I believe it has technical and usability superiority in some areas, but that won't keep me using a distribution that violates the ethics of the software it's built on.

We don't need Microsoft ethics in the Linux community.

turning worms?

Posted Sep 20, 2002 9:03 UTC (Fri) by laccata (guest, #3856) [Link]

I too am a SuSE user, and have chosen this distro for the same reasons.
I am currently trying to push Linux at local businesses and find it difficult to square United Linux with GPL.

GPL is hard enough for business users to understand and accept, but it is clearly distinguished from the proprietary model - hence its strength (or USP in marketing BS).

Once a business tries Linux and sees the advantage, GPL allows rapid deployment at very little cost.

If a distro is going to muddy the waters by mixing per seat / machine / site licences with GPL then I shall switch without hesitation.

By the way, this is also why I have difficulty with Ximian's proprietary addons for Windows connectivity. Why should a user swap one restrictive licence for another?