Advanced

Feature: No More Free BitKeeper

Posted by dave on · 6 comments
KernelTrap		Mail this story
Print this story

A vocal group has long protested Linus' use of BitKeeper, considering Linux the free and open source flagship product. GNU Project founder Richard Stallman is among the protestors, harshly criticizing Linus' decision to use a non-free (as in freedom) tool. However, most acknowledge that no free tool currently exists that is as powerful as BitKeeper, offering the ability to perform truly distributed development. Attempts to reverse engineer some of BitKeeper's features have lead to repeated cautions by BitMover. Most recently two such reverse engineering attempts have contributed to BitMover's decision to end the development and availability of the free BitKeeper product.

Full Story

  Nav
» Read more about: Story Type: Interview; Groups: GNU, Kernel

» Get new stories by e-mail: nightly or as they are published

« Return to the newswire homepage

Comments (6)

One can never trust closed Companies.

peragrin ·
You never know what will happen to your software or the developers, with Open Source you don't have to worry about it.

Sun, nope IBM, better than Sun, but are still in it for money, MSFT, well do I even have to mention them?
hkwint ·
So, you mean, RMS was right, since he warned for this too happen.
peragrin ·
RMS is right. Just don't tell him that, as it goes right to his head.
TxtEdMacs ·
This is NOT a rejection of your arguments in the general case, however, in the case of Bit Keeper both sides gained.

Thei is a VERY misleading headline for KernelTrap

AnonymousCoward ·
No more free BitKeeper? Quote, "BitMover has replaced the free version of BitKeeper with the recently released open source BitKeeper client."

Title should read, "Open Source BitKeeper ousts free Proprietary Edition", no? /ME hears the sound of an axe being ground.
mojavelinux ·
You are incorrect. Yes, there is an open source client, but to store the source code you need to have a server. The server is no longer free and therefore the kernel must be migrated. BitMover mentions that they will still track the kernel tree in their system, but this is entirely selfish and intended for their purpose only. Linus is on the move because CVS just ain't going to cut it.

Post a comment

A free account is needed to post. Write your comment here first: your text is kept in this browser while you sign up or log in, and is waiting for you when you come back.

Your message:
|||||
10
Markdown: **bold**, *italic*, [text](https://link), - lists, > quotes, $x^2$ for math. Formatting help

Sign up and post (it is free)  or  Log in and post