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Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News)
KDE.News covers the Qt 4.3.1 release. Perhaps the most significant change is that the
license exemption list has been expanded, allowing Qt to be linked with software under a number of other free licenses without the requirement that the resulting work be distributed under the GPL.
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Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 8, 2007 17:06 UTC (Wed) by JoeBuck (subscriber, #2330) [Link] But still not GPLv3? Though this might have been because TrollTech's lawyers put this together before GPLv3 was done.
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 10, 2007 13:12 UTC (Fri) by jriddell (subscriber, #3916) [Link] Yes, these exceptions have been in process for some time. Hopefully GPL3 support will come before long, they are of course looking at it.
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 8, 2007 23:22 UTC (Wed) by mattmelton (subscriber, #34842) [Link] QOpenGL(and QOGLWidget) are pretty powerful. Coupled with an extensible windowing system, QT is becoming a powerhouse for the C++ GUI developer. However, I don't see any mainstream adoption yet - besides a few OS products.
I fear its the lack of LGPL licence that's thwarting this (ie: why bother developing that indie game on QOpenGL, when you can spend a few more weeks an SDL interface).
I guess I'm a LGPL fan... I honestly didn't think I was until I started coding things that people wanted.
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 9, 2007 5:42 UTC (Thu) by irios (guest, #19838) [Link] But Trolltech's business model does not allow them to license Qt under the LGPL.
Trolltech does not make any money from the development of free software using Qt, but they do charge some (arguably hefty) license fees per programmer seat for those developing proprietary software. An LGPL Qt would cut that source of income source.
Their other source of income that I know of is the licensing of a Qtopia. If they LGPL'd Qt, I'm sure that adoption in the mobile phone and embedded arena would shoot up, but not much money would make its way back to them any more. See how the industry has generally banded with GTK, probably because it is free also as in beer.
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 9, 2007 6:43 UTC (Thu) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link] There are certainly more buzz around the GTK, but to say that "industry has generally banded with GTK" is oversimplification. GoogleEarth is using QT, Opera is using QT, Perforce's GUI is using QT, Skype is using QT: a lot of programs are QT-based.
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 9, 2007 8:35 UTC (Thu) by irios (guest, #19838) [Link] Sorry, I meant to say "mobile telephone industry", and then I also do say "generally".
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 10, 2007 13:09 UTC (Fri) by jriddell (subscriber, #3916) [Link] Many more phones use Qtopia than use any GTK frontend. Most of themhowever are only sold in China. Qtopia is GPL of course.
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 11, 2007 1:28 UTC (Sat) by irios (guest, #19838) [Link] I DO like Qt. I think it is technically VERY competent. But I still believe GTK has totallly stealed their thunder, by being at the right place at the right time with the right license, whether it is the best technical solution or just good enough. Sure, some China cellphones use Qt, but that was THEN, and it is but a minute fraction of what Linux on cellphones is going to be, even in China.
Today, all the moment is behind GTK: Equipment makers Motorola, LG, Panasonic, NEC, Samsung, Hwa Wei, Ericsson, Palm, even (to some extent) Nokia; chip makers Intel, ARM, NXP, TI, Freescale, Broadcom; operators Vodafone, France Telecom, Telecom Italia, DoCoMO; software infrastructure providers ACCESS, Montavista, Windriver, FSM Labs, ... All of them are knee-deep into GTK-based solutions, while they are publicly ignoring Qt.
It may so be that Trolltech's business model works fine just as it is now: I hope so, and wish them well. I don't think, though, it will take them to world domination, for good or bad. I'd possibly say for bad, as Qt4 and KDE4 look really awesome, but I have the feeling they are getting framed out ot the picture.
If I were Motorola, or Hwa Wei, or one of these, I would also choose GTK. My customers would be free to develop whatever they wanted for whatever platform they chose, free or proprietary, without having to account to anybody. And I would be able to provide development systems for free, and not rest my future on the whims of a pesky norwegian company.
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 9, 2007 14:41 UTC (Thu) by svkelley (guest, #37299) [Link] Hindsight is always 20/20, but they really should have released it LGPL and changed their businessmodel. They would have seen far wider support for their framework across the community both commercial and open source. That is not to critisize their success with KDE and other commercial ventures. I am just saying that if they wanted to promote a platform framework, LGPL would have been the way to go. It certainly would have definitely shifted the balance away from Gnome.
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 9, 2007 15:39 UTC (Thu) by michaeljt (subscriber, #39183) [Link] I'm not sure which business model you were thinking of, but this one seems to work quite nicely for them - I suspect that they may prefer the current situation to wider adoption under the LGPL.
Qt 4.3.1 Allows for More Free Software Licences (KDE.News) Posted Aug 10, 2007 13:11 UTC (Fri) by jriddell (subscriber, #3916) [Link] They admit they should have released it under the GPL sooner, which wouldhave stopped the creation of Gnome altogether.
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