The Open Source Time Bomb - "Infected" Commercial Software

The presented issue is not really FOSS related. Any third party module a software vendor could use has its own license (or contract, if the vendor does a special deal), and therefore the vendor use of that module is bound by those legal constraints. Presenting this as a GNU or FOSS issue is misleading at least.

Indeed. Moreover, the constant mix-up between free and gratis is getting old. When one doesn't know anything about a subject and didn't research it, one should just shut up. But then I guess 75% of the current media would suddenly disappear ;) .

And what's that about creating new abbreviations like GPU? Or a term like "GNU library license"? And this strange idea that those licenses would forbid one to sell software for money? That the service model is more likely to succeed when one does Free Software than the usual selling model is obvious, but *nothing* in the GPL (I'll use this one since the author links to the GNU site) forbids one to sell Free Software itself for money (not just support for the software). That's not even misleading, that's definitely pure FUD.

Tsela: Yeah, a lot of people forget that Stallman used to sell tapes of the GNU stuff he developed.

The GPU comment had me deeply confused and reading up on my licenses... This seems extremely ignorant. I assume the "GNU Libraries" thing refers to the LGPL?

Paul: yeah, I read that in Groklaw (The Daemon, the GNU and the Penguin). I wasn't surprised.

mjjohansen: Exactly what I meant. He probably meant GPL and LGPL, but the fact that he wasn't even able to use the correct terms makes me think he doesn't have any idea what he was writing about. But then, what's new under the sun?

Tsela: A long time ago I made an Anti-Linux-IPO-howto aimed at educating journalists. Eric Raymond recommended it to a bunch of them at the time, and I think it helped.

The problem is the number of people attempting to write about technology that just don't have a clue. It's staggering. It makes some pointy-haired bosses seem like savants...