Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: open source == $0.00?

Author:Wesley Felter
Posted:8/27/1999; 4:00:47 PM
Topic:GIFs get expensive
Msg #:10159 (In response to 10143)
Prev/Next:10158 / 10160

What examples are there of open source packages (GPLed in particular) which are not free of charge? By this I mean packages that require you to pay for a license

No such packages exist, because the Open Source Definition explicitly prohibits licensing fees.

What "(flFreeLikeSpeech and not flFreeLikeBeer)" really means is that no one is obligated to give out $0.00 copies of the software. A good example is the TiVO set-top-box; it runs Linux, but if you want the source code you have to send them $25. Of course, one person will probably buy the CD and then put the contents up on an FTP site, but TiVO is not obligated to do that.

This is all AFAIK, so feel free to correct me.

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