Zen Lunatic <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Part of me 'feels' non-free software is wrong but I would like to > come to a philosophical truth on the matter.
Using non-free software is not wrong as long as you will never need the freedom. For example, the software in some household appliance can be non-free, and it would not make a difference to you usually. Now if we are talking about the software in your minidisc player, we go from "no difference" to "inconvenient": if you had access to the software, you could, for example, record stuff in the field with your minidisc recorder and transfer it in the original digital form to your computer. Nada. That's a nuisance since it hampers you in what you can achieve technically with your own physical property. The next step is when we are talking about software you are using for some purpose, and somebody else could also make use of it. You are not allowed to copy it, so it hampers you legally in what you can achieve with some physical property of yours (the media), namely cloning it. Closed software stops you from tinkering (which is a nuisance), and proprietary software stops you from sharing (which is distasteful). It is better to avoid such conflicts of interest. -- David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum _______________________________________________ Gnu-misc-discuss mailing list Gnu-misc-discuss@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gnu-misc-discuss