Andrew Suffield <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Mon, Feb 28, 2005 at 10:16:46AM +0000, Matthew Garrett wrote:
> Yes, it's odd, but it's odd in the opposite direction to the one > you're coming at it from. The unexpected thing is that the binary, or > jpeg, can *ever* be considered free. Conversely, any argument which > says jpegs are always free enough, also says the same thing about > program binaries. There's nothing special about pictures here. In the general case, a binary is insufficient - it's too complex for someone to be able to modify it in any way they want to. In the general case, a JPEG is modifiable in a way that a binary is not. Programs exist that allow you to read in JPEGs and produce new pieces of artwork. People use them on a regular basis. No comparable programs exist for ELF binaries. The obvious conclusion is that derived works can (in general) be produced from JPEGs, but (in general) not from ELF files. -- Matthew Garrett | [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
