[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>my first question is, if i do choose to provide a linux distribution to >my client, and develop software in and for the same environment, does it >mean that i need to put the software under the GPL - of course, given >that i only use the glibc and other libraries unde the lgpl? No need to GPL your software. It depends on how you want it to be distributed. With GPL, if you sell someone your software, you don't have a say if the other party would give it away or resell it - you can't charge any royalties to your software. >my next question is, if i provide my clint with GPL'd software, can i >charge them *if* i provide 'warranty" and 'technical support' for the >software? Yes - Tech Support. Not sure if warranty is covered (as the GPL is some sort of a disclaimer license too). >my last question would be, does anybody know a way of making real ca$h >from linux? all the stuff i seem to find on the net is almost always >theoretical - does anybody have experience in making money through open >source / free software i can relate to? Redhat. Mandrake. Caldera. They made money with distributing Linux distributions. Others made money by selling open-source and free software. But the bulk of the earnings come from sales and tech support, be it a Linux or a BSD solution. It's a different case with Apple, though. They employed BSD and now Apple is raking money with their Mac OSX - whose core is the open source OS Darwin (though Aqua and other components aren't free nor open sourced). Not to be sounding like a heretic, but you need not GPL everything you need to offer. There has been serious discussions as to why or why not GPL, and though some companies like SGI and IBM has somehow embraced GPL, there are some others who utilized less-forceful licenses (like the BSD license) due to cruel economic realities. Of course there's always a place for free software (and personally I prefer free software if it is of superior quality than the others). There's really money in GPLd solutions- it's just that the economic slump we're all in right now crunches damned hard. Some still view the GPL as a bit too restrictive. Paolo Alexis Falcone __________________________________ www.edsamail.com _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the Linux Newbies' List: send "subscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
