On 18.02.15 14:35, Bruce Layne wrote: > Early on, I did say that I doubted a lot of that code will be open > source, and frankly I still do for the user interface and conversational > wizards. They made a substantial investment to develop some of that > code and I think they'd probably like to keep some of that user > interface as a proprietary Tormach look and feel.
If I sold hardware, used LinuxCNC, and developed a proprietary user interface, with the purpose of providing the customer a superior ergonomic and comfortable feel when using my machines, then I would also refrain from making it OSS. (We have done well. A better TP is a much bigger prize.) If the TP code is linked into LinuxCNC, rather than communicating with it over an API, then it is a derived work, but when you look at your ini, and see something like: # Name of display program, e.g., tkemc DISPLAY = axis then you realise that the display program is separate, and so a proprietary replacement for Axis is not a derived work, and Tormach's generosity has no need (or good reason) to be greater than it is, AFAICT. Incidentally, although I have not stopped to read the latest GPL version, the earlier one permitted code to be made open source by supply of relocatable object code in lieu of source code. That still allows the community to re-use the code, but keeps the source out of the hands of commercial competitors. To release the source is an act of good faith, I consider. It is easy to want something for nothing, but is it reasonable to want it all? ... > I'm curious how much Tormach developed in house not for legal reasons, > or "ethical" reasons, or because I'm a hater. I'm curious because the > marketing part of this seems weird to me and I'd like to understand it. Tormach did develop it in-house. They did not hire another company to develop it, they hired a temporary employee - a contractor. It is their code - they own the copyright, and if they've assigned to us the right to use it too, then then it would be stupid to call it our code, just to try to deny their contribution. AIUI, that is not marketing, just simple reality - not very difficult to understand at all. > If I was doing the Tormach marketing, I'd play up the Free Open Source > Software aspect, brag about giving back to the community, while > expounding about the NEW & IMPROVED hard realtime reliability, the > enhanced features, etc. A competent marketer understands his market. It is unlikely that the majority of ready-to-eat machine buyers will have much understanding of FOSS - or give a damn. It seems a much wiser decision to stamp their brand on their product, thereby doing nothing to undermine the customer's feeling that it is fully supported by the vendor. Brand confidence is vital, I figure - the machines are not an insignificant investment for a hobbyist or small business. Erik -- In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap, and much more difficult to find." - Terry Pratchett ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Download BIRT iHub F-Type - The Free Enterprise-Grade BIRT Server from Actuate! Instantly Supercharge Your Business Reports and Dashboards with Interactivity, Sharing, Native Excel Exports, App Integration & more Get technology previously reserved for billion-dollar corporations, FREE http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=190641631&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
