Re: Non-issue

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Re: Non-issue
by Unleash freedom on Thursday 02/Sep/2004, @02:06

What is the goal of the free (as in freedom) software community? To grant more freedom, provided that the same freedoms are passed on upon distribution. Licenses are about freedoms, not price. Proprietary vendors have 90%+ of the marked. How are you going to convince the marked if you start saying "freedom for some of us"?

General software that just about everyone needs some of the time includes email, browser, file manager, word processor, calculator, calendar, archive manager and a game now and then. You should encourage people you meet to try free (as in freedom) software available for Windows. If they become regular users, it is easier for them to switch to a free OS where the regular tools they use are available.

In light of the above argument, do you agree that a GPLed QT for Windows would be a good idea? Then developers using QT could say to their customers: "Incidentally, we provide the same products for GNU/HURD, GNU/Darwin and GNU/Linux. If you switch to one of them, your license management will be back on track (no unsolicited copying and law suites to worry about), at present you will save money when obtaining a license, and all your regular tools are available to you. We can even offer you a discount, because if you switch, then we can switch completely as well. At present, we too must renew our Microsoft product licenses every two years. To migrate is a win-win situation for both of us."

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