rude bwoy enscribed thusly:
> i'm sorry - but i respectfully disagree.
> free - last i checked - does mean free.
> ie: u don't pay for it.
And you don't have to if you don't want to. You want it for
free (free as in dollars) then download it. It's free. You don't have
to pay for a thing. If you are already subscribed to a flat rate service,
it won't even cost you additional for the download time.
> if i choose to edit the binaries on windows
> i can do so without penalty - won't get any
> support but i can do it. still it's not free.
> but is y u have FREELY available s/w that
> you can only get binaries for.
> shareware is not freeware - it's left to your
> integrity to pay for it.
> when u buy a chair u r paying for the materials
> and labour, not the standard it was based on
> my point is - i think it is unscrupulous to be
> selling the efforts made by so many people
> who did this work at no charge to so many of
> us.
I think you need to get a clue.
It's free if you don't want to pay for it (free as in $).
It's free if you want to freely use it and redistribute it (free
of restrictions).
It's free to modify and use for your own purposes (free as in freedom).
It's free for you to pay someone to package it in a nice package and
make it convenient for you to use (no one is forcing you to download it).
It don't get much "free'er" than that.
> ok - and i quote "this isn't a place for a economics treatise"
> so that's it from me.
In contrast... In days gone by, I used, installed, and developed
for SCO Unix. The base OS, then, was $500. Another $500 got you the
network code (no it didn't come with it). Another $500 got you the
development stuff. That still didn't get you a fraction of what you
can download without paying a cent. If you want to buy it at Best Buy
or CompUSA, you are FREE to do that too! That's the nature of FREEDOM!
> CompUSA, BestBuy and Babbages r selling Redhat
> for those prices.
And that includes books and support. You want them, you pay for
them. You don't them, you don't have to pay for them. Free software
does not mean free CD's, free books, free support, free packaging, or
free distribution. It means the software is free. Free of charge, free
to use, free to modify. Pay for the support if you want (no one is forcing
you), pay for the books if you want. Those, you don't get if you don't
pay for them. The software, you can get even if you don't pay for it.
What don't you get????
Maybe you figure it's not free software because you have to pay
for the computer that it has to run on? Ok... Maybe you got me there. :-)
> the rude
> Keith Robinson wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 16 Sep 1999, rude bwoy wrote:
> > > have any of u checked out what linux is
> > > retailing for these days?
> > linux does not retail for anything. some distributions do.
> > > it's like $70 or $80 for the cd!
> > > i got a new h/d and and i was gonna put
> > > rehat 6.0 on it. when i realized what
> > > they were selling "free" s/w for i decided
> > > to install 5.1 on the drive and download
> > > the rpm's i need.
> > i run RH 6.0. didn't pay a nickle. downloaded it off the Internet.
> > perhaps you are misunderstanding "free." free does not mean, in
> > this case, "no-charge." free means open and accesible and
> > according to freely available standards. the chair i am sitting on
> > is built with screws and fabric and metal which conform to
> > international, open, free standards. but a visit to an office
> > furniture shop will prove the chair is way far from free.
> > free means you can open the hood of your car and using sockets and
> > tools which cost lots of money but conform to free standards and can
> > work on your car, even re-engineer it if you've the knowledge and
> > skills and are so inclined..
> > non-free, propritary software, even free-shareware is like a car
> > whose hood is welded shut.
> > you have several concepts confused.
> > > i understand that effort goes into packaging
> > > and distribution - but the people who should
> > > be getting the money (the programmers) are
> > > not!
> > > what's the deal???
> > the deal seems very different than you think/expect. I am a raw
> > newbie to Linux and reasonably new to computing generally. hope
> > i've clarified "free' a bit.
> > > the rude
> > no charge...
> > --
> > --
> > Keith Robinson
> > kmail 1.0.024
> > RH Linux 6.0 kernel 2.2.11
Mike
--
Michael H. Warfield | (770) 985-6132 | [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(The Mad Wizard) | (770) 331-2437 | http://www.wittsend.com/mhw/
NIC whois: MHW9 | An optimist believes we live in the best of all
PGP Key: 0xDF1DD471 | possible worlds. A pessimist is sure of it!
