software and warranties

Posted Jun 8, 2002 5:20 UTC (Sat) by bignose (subscriber, #40)
Parent article: software and warranties

> It's a more difficult question how open source proprietary software, such as 
> Sun's Java, should be treated.  Having the source and not being allowed to 
> modify or release changes seems a lot like a "no user serviceable parts 
> inside" kind of label, which implies manufacturer product liability.

"Open source proprietary software" is an oxymoron. "Having the source and not being allowed to modify or release changes" is not a description of an open source license, but a proprietary license.

The Open Source Definition (based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines) specifies that the license terms must allow examination, modification and redistribution, among other things. Thus what you describe in the quoted paragraph has nothing to do with open source.

Sun's Java is proprietary to the bone -- you can't get the source code, and the specifications are not open.

In this game terminology matters a lot; please be careful.