[Proj] Geo Transfoms and calculations
Gerald I. Evenden
geraldi.evenden at gmail.com
Wed Dec 31 11:15:54 EST 2008
I will not argue with what you have said but lets look at it from my
perspective:
1. I can sit here in my cozy den and hack away and use all sorts of software
out there that is free for the download. I am very fat and happy and get
along just fine.
2. Also remember that this is an advocational activity and I do not have any
monetary involvement. My main expense is the hardware I occasionally update
and the electric power used and maybe the occasional book or library trip.
3. After a fun period of hacking I come up with something that may be of
interest to others. In the good 'ol days this used to be simple: just put a
note out on usenet or a bulletin board and pass out floppies. No hassle.
4. Now I need to put disclaimers, ... blah, blah, ... and get the feeling
that I need to put an attorney on retainer. And occassionally get dumped
upon by others if I make a choice of using someone else's "free" software
that apparently upsets the potential users of my software legal apple cart.
5. What's a poor jerk like me supposed to do? For example, on the geodetic
program I am currently finishing up I want to put 'readline' on the front end
for obvious reasons; BUT wait, that uses GPL. Arrgh! I can hear the
bitching and moaning now. At the moment I have a simple procedure
called 'readline' as a substitute but gee, is the name possible copyrighted
too?
That is why I get cranky about the whole issue.
On Wednesday 31 December 2008 10:17:59 am Charles Karney wrote:
> Let me defend the GPL. If you write some software and
>
> (a) you'd like everyone to be able to use it (including reading/
> modifying the code) and
>
> (b) you don't want anyone "extending" your code and then selling
> binary-only copies of the extended code
>
> then GPL is an appropriate license. Stallman isn't forcing GPL on
> anyone; the GPL is merely protecting the authors' rights. If you don't
> like the GPL license on the GSL, then just imagine a possible
> alternative: negotiate with the Numerical Algorithms Group for a license
> to NAG.
>
> > [Stallman] and GPL [do] nothing but impede open interchange of
> > software.
>
> This just shows an ignorance of history. To mention one example:
> Torvalds chose the GPL for Linux. A more "liberal" license (e.g., the
> MIT license) would have resulted in a Balkanized effort with multiple
> commercial entities attempting to sell versions of Linux with their
> various proprietary extensions. (Similarly you should be thankful that
> the gcc compiler is covered by the GPL.)
--
The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due
to the absence from Jerusalem of a lunatic asylum.
-- Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) British psychologist
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