Re: [tlug] Vendor lock-in vs monopoly

[Curt Sampson <cjs@example.com>]

On Fri, 28 Sep 2007, Nguyen Vu Hung wrote:

> In a speech of RMS[1], he said that "proprietary program is a
> monopoly" but I think "monopoly" is not the perfect word here....

It's always good to keep in mind, when listing to RMS, that while he
has a coherent and not unreasable philosophy about how software should
work, he is prone to using terms in rather unusual ways or psychological
impact.

For example (and simplifying wildly here):

    1. "You can do anything you want with this software."

    2. "If you embed so much as one line of this software in your own
    program, you must give away the entire source of your program to
    anybody who asks for it."

According to RMS, the software and users thereof in situation 1 are not
"free", but the software and users in situation 2 are "free."

cjs
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Curt Sampson       <cjs@example.com>        +81 90 7737 2974
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